


Voyager: Undead

by FemslashUniverse



Category: Star Trek: Voyager, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/F, Lesbians in Space, Romance, Space Wives, Walkers, Zombies, but sort of, holodeck but not, not really a crossover, the Farm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:21:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26850550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FemslashUniverse/pseuds/FemslashUniverse
Summary: When a newcomer shows up at the farm, some of the group aren’t as pleased by the appearance. But this “Seven” woman shows strange abilities, and Katie feels like she knows her, but she knows one thing for sure: Seven is special in more than one way.This is basically a holodeck thing, but not.Also, there’s not really much TWD in this. I just felt like I should give it proper credit since it’s basically the backdrop for this.Also, Happy October!!
Relationships: Kathryn Janeway & Seven of Nine, Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine
Comments: 72
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1

“Is it a walker?” 

“Can’t tell,” Phoebe grunted as she peered through the binoculars. “There’s definitely someone moving.” 

Owen blocked the sun from his eyes as he watched the youngest Janeway on top of the RV. He gazed out at the field, green as it could be with the warm sun shining down on them. The large ranch style house lay behind him, and in front, the glorious view. Like a piece of heaven in the middle of Indiana. 

All for nothing. 

“It’s a walker!” Phoebe jumped and the RV creaked under her. She hopped down the ladder and landed square on her feet. “This one’s mine!” 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

Phoebe grunted and then spun around to find her older sister standing by with her hands on her hips and an incredulous expression. 

“I can do it,” Phoebe nearly whined. 

The redhead pulled her rifle out, keeping its nose to the ground like her father had taught her. “You stay here. Owen, keep an eye on her, will ya?” 

He nodded, not exactly excited to be placed between the two Janeway sisters, but they were like his own daughters in many ways. He’d seen them grow up. He and Gretchen and Julia and Edward. They’d raised their kids together more than apart. Vacations, holidays, backpacking trips and fishing. 

It all seemed so long ago. 

Katie touched his shoulder gently, “Doing all right, Owen?” 

He nodded, wiping away an errant tear. 

“We all miss Julia.” 

Phoebe finally got the hint and wrapped her arm around him. “We’re all family here.” 

The older man nodded. “You better go take care of that walker before it gets caught in the fence. Tank’ll throw a fit.” 

Katie barked a laugh. She nodded once, releasing the man who was like her second father. She turned to her pesky sister. “Where’d you see it?” 

Phoebe dashed up the ladder of the RV as Kathryn came around to look out at the vast pasture, the large green meadow beyond it, their land the break of the trees all around. 

“There!” Phoebe pointed while she looked through her binoculars. 

Kathryn tried following along, and squinted. “Too far.” She set the rifle aside on a hardwood table they’d set up by the old Winnabego with the big yellow ‘W.’ “I’ll take the sniper.” 

She headed forward another fifteen feet and settled behind the ready-standing sniper rifle they’d fixed to the location. It was the central most spot and gave them the greatest distance and clarity for whatever came up over the hill--whether it was walkers or marauders. 

Settling behind the sights, she focused in and then called back to her sister on the RV. “Location?” 

“Straight ahead,” Phoebe called back.

“Be more specific!” 

“Right! Um, okay.” She peered through the binoculars once more and scanned the area. “Okay! That tree where Taylor Flynn tried kissin’ you and you clocked him out cold.” 

Kathryn grumbled under her breath.  _ Not helpful, Phoebe.  _

The message must have made it to Phoebe as she continued, “Two trees over from there, to the left! In the shade! It’s by the trunk.” 

Kathryn moved the rifle carefully until she came upon the figure. It was difficult to tell with the glare of the sun and the darkness of the shade under the tree. The figure appeared to be aimlessly staggering around the trunk. It tripped on one of the tree's notorious roots, something she’d done numerous times when they were kids. Kathryn moved the sights along with the figure as it stumbled forward, it’s arms swinging haphazardly as it lurched forward, step by step. 

A second figure behind that one moved into view and as it stood still, dazedly lolling its head, she shot off the rifle. It’s head burst at the impact and it collapsed silently. Kathryn closed her eyes momentarily.  _ Please don’t let it be someone I knew. _ She wasn’t sure why it mattered any more. You were either alive, dead or undead. It didn’t matter who you were if you undead. What mattered was removing the threat to keep her people safe. Her family. The group that had somehow assembled in the early days of chaos, when the virus had swept across the world in a matter of days. It was a snap. One day everything had been as it had always been. The next, it was this. Shooting undead with a rifle from her parents’ ranch house. 

Kathryn shook it off as she lined up her sight again. The figure seemed to be moving a little faster now, gaining speed as it sort of half-galloped down the meadow, staggering and nearly tumbling. 

She cleared her throat, aimed, let out a breath and gently squeezed the trigger.

“WAIT!” 

The echoing boom of the rifle ricocheted around the valley and she spun around to look up at Phoebe on the RV. She was flying down the stairs, grabbing the rifle Kathryn left and came barreling. “It’s not a walker!” she screamed as she ran. 

Kathryn took a few steps backward, nodding at Owen for him to put everyone on alert. She whipped out her pistol as she turned and sprinted across the first half of the pasture. 

The feel of the tall grass whipping by her was exhilarating as much as it was terrifying. One thing the new world had made sure of was getting her into shape. She ran with speed and precision as she caught up with Phoebe who was beginning to slow. The younger Janeway hadn’t yet experienced enough close calls to adapt to them properly. She still wasn’t ready for away missions. 

Huffing out of breath, they made their way across the second half of the pasture, out into the meadow, and to the body. Phoebe was sliding onto her knees to help the poor person when Kathryn knocked her aside with her full weight. The person in the grass hissed as it turned around. It’s eyes clouded with death. It’s skin and bones broken and revolting. Kathryn pulled out a long knife from her other hip and plunged it into the skull. 

Beside her, Phoebe breathed hard and stared wide-eyed. The anger in her sister's face was obvious, but Kathryn still spoke through her teeth, as if Phoebe didn’t know how she’d messed up, how close she’d come to being bitten.

“Don’t you ever do that again! That’s not the person I shot. Be careful.” She nearly spat as she pulled Phoebe up off the ground. They searched in the high grass, Phoebe staying behind Kathryn. 

“Goddammit,” Kathryn muttered. 

Red blood was sprayed across a patch of grass and she found the person she had shot--a  _ person _ , not a walker. Not only were the figures’ clothes relatively put together, they didn’t smell of death, and had no apparent wounds, except for the trail of blood slipping into the rich dirt beneath them.

“Hey,” Kathryn put a hand to the person, turning them onto their back. She gasped quietly, surprised to find it was a woman. A blonde woman. With strange metallic implants in her face and on one of her hands. 

“What the--” Phoebe started but Kathryn held up a fist for her to keep quiet. 

“Hey,” she whispered to the blonde woman, well-aware that they were far from the protective fence and on their own out in the meadow. Surely Owen had let Tank and Chuck know they were out here, if the two had returned from their run yet. 

“Kathryn!” Phoebe knocked her roughly. 

“What?” Kathryn called back annoyed. 

“There’s---we have to go.” 

Kathryn rose onto her feet and looked up over the grass. At the precipice of the hill, a group of at least eight walkers had bunched together and herded, probably riled up by the sound of the rifle.  _ When was Chuck going to make that silencer he swore he knew how to make?  _

“Goddammit.” She squatted on the ground once more. She directed Phoebe to do the same and then turned back to the blonde. “Hey! If you’re alive, I need to know _right_ _now_.” She shook the blonde woman but she didn’t stir. Kathryn put her fingers to her neck.

“Is she alive?” 

“I can’t tell,” Kathryn said through her teeth. “Hey!” She shoved the woman harder but she just bounced back and remained out cold. 

“Hurry!” Phoebe chanted, “hurry, hurry, hurry,” as she peered over the grass at the small herd.

“Sorry to do this,” Kathryn said as she pushed two fingers into the wound on the woman’s shoulder. Her eyes shot open and Kathryn quickly placed her hand over the woman’s mouth. Ice-blue irises finally settled and peered into her own. Kathryn gestured for her to be quiet. 

“Phoebs!” 

“Thirty seconds!” Phoebe called back, knowing exactly what her sister was asking. “Hurry up!” 

“We gotta go,” Kathryn leaned toward the blonde woman. “You gotta get up. We have to move quickly.” 

The woman frowned deeply as Kathryn pulled her up, surprised at how heavy the woman was, considering her rather thin frame. She moaned once and Phoebe grew wide-eyed, her hand tight around the rifle. 

“She’s just in pain! Come on, help me.” 

Phoebe glanced back at the walkers who were just starting to notice there was fresh meat. She slid her arm around the back of the tall woman and the three started to move. 

Keeping her eye on what was behind them, Kathryn tried to pull the blonde as quickly as possible without any of them losing their balance. The blonde’s head lolled back and forth, going in and out of consciousness. Finally, she rested her head on Kathryn’s shoulder and looked up at her. 

“Janeway,” she mumbled in a faint whisper. 

Phoebe and Kathryn immediately made eye contact. Phoebe spoke the question Kathryn was too afraid to utter. 

“Do you think she knows Daddy?” 


	2. Chapter 2

Gretchen snapped the light blue sheet open and lay it on the table. Limping and leaning heavily on a single crutch, Tom grabbed the opposite corner and held it down. 

“We got a few!” Katie directed Chuck and Tank as they came around the house.

“Who’s that?” Chuck nodded toward the blonde.

“The walkers!” Katie ordered as she and Phoebe helped the blonde up the five steps to the home. 

Tank took off toward  _ his  _ fence as Chuck set his large hands on his waist. He looked back and forth between the house and the fence before spitting on the ground and going to help Tank. 

“What happened?” B’Elanna washed her hands in a bowl that Gretchen held for her. She wiped them off on a hand towel and then turned around to address the issue. 

“I shot her! In the shoulder.” Katie and Phoebe got her partially onto the table 

“Where’d she come from?” Tom assisted best he could, leaning his weight against the table to slide the blonde’s legs onto the center of the table. His question went unanswered as B’Elanna cut the woman’s shirt around the shoulder and slid the materials away. 

Gretchen silently began sopping up the blood with a number of towels and placing them into a large metal bowl for cleaning. 

“Oh god,” Phoebe uttered as she began to sway.

Katie firmly took her by the shoulders. “Go outside. Stay on watch  _ only _ . Report to me immediately if the perimeter is breached.” 

There was no question about it, Phoebe sighed. Any chance of going on a run any time soon was nixed.  _ One little mistake. Well, maybe not so little.  _

*****

“Janeway…” 

Katie stirred in the hard wooden chair beside the bed in her old childhood bedroom. She quickly reached out and took the mesh covered hand. A gasp from the dazed blonde made her pull away.

“I’m sorry! Does it hurt?” 

A grunt was all the response she got until the same mesh covered hand reached out for her. She quickly took it between her own. 

“Are you all right?” Katie whispered.

Another grunt as the woman momentarily opened her eyes and revealed her ice blue irises. 

“You need to rest. But you need to drink some water.” She kept the mesh hand in one and used her right to take hold of the glass of water on the side table. 

“I don’t need it…” the woman replied hoarsely. 

“Doctor’s orders. Come on, I’ll help you sit up.” 

Katie released her other hand and helped the woman sit up a little, a couple pillows stuffed behind her back to keep her upright. She allowed the woman to catch her breath and take in surroundings some more before bringing the cup to her lips. She tipped the drink and then quickly wiped away the bead of water that ran down the dimpled chin. Five sips later, Katie set the cup aside and continued to sit beside her while the blonde dozed in and out.

She tried not to notice how familiar the woman seemed. As strange as she was, with metal adornments to her skin, metal tipped fingers, and a metallic starburst, she was still somehow familiar. The soft black eyelashes stood out against her skin, as did her full pink lips. Six feet of woman lay in Katie’s bed and for the first time in her life, she felt the urge to join a woman in bed.

A muted whimper brought her back to her surroundings and she slightly shook her head of its fuzz. 

“Are you in pain?” she whispered. “B’Elanna gave you a shot but we weren’t sure if it would make much difference. We’re low on medicine.” She wasn’t exactly sure why she felt like explaining everything to the stranger. “We can go on a run to get some more though. And we have Advil. It’s a few years expired, but Elan says most expiration dates are completely arbitrary, so it should still help…” She grew wide eyed at her own rambling mouth. Curling her lips around her teeth, she implored herself to shut up.

Although her eyes remained closed, a tiny smirk appeared on her face. “I am only in moderate pain. It will pass.” 

“Well, I should probably let you rest, instead of sitting her blabbering on…”  _ Seriously, Kate! Shut. Up. Before you embarrass yourself further.  _ “If you need anything, just ask, okay?” 

Katie immediately fell into the blue gaze as the woman opened her eyes. 

“I am seeking the Janeways. I must recover so I may continue.” 

Katie cocked her head and put a hand to her chin. She examined the blonde carefully, eyeing the metallic implant over her left eye again, and the curve of her lips.  _ Why do I feel like I know her? _

“Why are you looking for them?” Katie played it close to the vest. 

“I must protect them.” 

“Ha! Well, don’t we all need a bit of protection in this fun little world?” Katie ran her fingers through her hair absentmindedly, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of everything that happened since Zed Day. 

This time the blonde studied her for a long few moments. “It is a task I must complete.” 

“Oh? According to whom?” 

“It was an order I received.” 

“An order? Are you military?” Katie crossed her arms, trying to see if this woman fit her image of military personnel. Was she Navy like her father? She didn’t seem military. 

“You are a Janeway,” the blonde realized quietly. 

“Who sent you?” She squinted as she watched for any particular response. 

“Edward.” 

Katie held her breath, unsure if she should trust this woman. She was definitely strange, and there was no way to know if she spoke the truth. 

“You’ve seen him!” Phoebe pushed into the room. 

“Phoebe!” Katie chided. 

“She knows daddy!” She turned to the stranger, nearly pouncing on her. “Where did you see him? Where is he? Can you take us to him?” 

Her older sister carefully tugged her away. She kept her a few feet from the bed, doing her best to give the blonde some space to disclose any information. When apprehensive silence met her, she returned her hand gently to the mesh covered one once more. “We don’t even know your name.” She warmly locked eyes with the woman.

Katie stroked her hand with her thumb, and she took a relaxed breath. “I am Seven of Nine.” 

Phoebe jumped in, “Seven of nine what?” 

Katie whacked her on the arm. 

“That is my designation.” 

“It’s an interesting name, Seven of Nine,” Katie smiled on the left side of her mouth.

“Indeed.” 

“Where did you get it?” 

“I am uncertain. It simply… is.” 

“What about our dad?” Phoebe couldn’t stop fidgeting. 

Seven pulled her hand away from Katie and wrung her hands together in her lap. Her gaze fell downward and she took a shaky breath. It was all that needed to be said for Katie. Phoebe watched and waited until Seven finally looked up again, tears forming behind her eyes. 

“I failed. I failed him, and all of you,” she turned to Katie, not quite meeting her eyes. “It was his final wish that I protect his family.” 

Phoebe remained perfectly still. Katie met Seven’s regretful eyes and had no doubt she spoke the truth. Glancing at her sister, she was more worried about her state of mind. Though they were only a few years apart in age, Phoebe had never been as strong. She rose from the edge of the bed and moved toward her. She touched her shoulder and much like when they were kids, she jerked away and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. 

Katie closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. At least now they knew. Not knowing had been the worst of it. And however Edward Janeway died, Katie had no doubt it was an honorable death. How her mother would take it was something else…

  
  


*****

  
  


Hushed voices lured Seven out of her temporary room and she hung back quietly in the hallway that led to the dining room. A quick estimation of the time that passed equated to about twelve or fifteen hours, though it was only a loose estimation. 

“We don’t know that for a fact,” one man said. 

Another objected, offering an alternative, “Maybe she  _ does  _ really know Ed.” 

“What’s with her face?” 

“I don’t know that her face matters right now.” 

“Doesn’t it?” the first man questioned a little louder. “Have any of you ever seen, ever even heard of someone with metal in their face?” 

“Besides goths and punks?” 

A couple chuckles went around the table before the youngest Janeway interjected, “Frankenstein!” 

“Look, I’m just saying, we don’t know who she is. She could be  _ anyone _ . Maybe she’s fine,” the deep voiced man continued, “or maybe isn’t.” 

A hush covered the room as Seven came out from her hiding place. The heads around the table slowly began to notice her. Katie had her back to her and turned around to see what everyone was eyeing. 

“Oh! You shouldn’t be up!” A dark-skinned woman hurried over to her but Seven took a step back. 

Katie hurried to B’Elanna’s side. “This is the doctor,” she told Seven. “She was the one that got the bullet out of her shoulder.” 

Seven tilted her head and then acquiesed as B’Elanna made her careful journey over to her. 

“Let’s take a look, okay?” 

Seven nodded once and looked away as the doctor pulled down her shirt over the bandaged shoulder. 

“Does it hurt?” 

“It does not.” 

Katie nodded for B’Elanna to continue. She carefully unwound the material while Seven observed the people around the table. An old man and a young man who looked similar, and the younger one with a damaged foot, sat across from one another. A thin, dark skinned man and a bear-like man sat beside him, a tribal tattoo on his face. Phoebe and the eldest Janeway, Gretchen, she recalled, were on the other end. Off to the side, leaning against a window with a reinforced wood door that could attach over it, a dark haired Asain man kept his eyes on the floor. 

A gasp turned everyone’s attention to B’Elanna, including Seven’s. “Is there a problem?” 

“I--” she turned to Katie, “It’s impossible!” 

Seven and the redhead shared a suspicious look of each other.

“What is it?” the tattooed man asked as he got to his feet. Seven immediately tensed, though she couldn’t say why. She only knew that she needed to protect the Janeways, and he was not one of them. Though the others didn’t seem threatening, perhaps his size made her particularly vigilant.

“The wound. It’s… all but gone. I mean, the skin is like new. It’s nearly healed over.” 

Everyone around her remained quiet while B’Elanna looked around waiting for someone to share her shock. 

“That is a good thing,” Seven replied coolly. 

“I don’t see the problem, Elan.” Katie glanced at the blonde. 

“Cell regeneration doesn’t work like  _ that _ . It takes time! How long does it usually take for a small cut to heal over? A few weeks with a scab.  _ That, _ ” she gestured at Seven’s exposed shoulder. “ _ That _ was a gunshot! And look at it! With the rate of healing… the wound will be healed over completely, and  _ if  _ there’s a scar, it’ll all be by the end of the night!” 

Seven could feel everyone’s eyes on her. She had no explanation to give. No clues. She only had a faint recollection of being hurt before and healing quickly. 

“Ed worked for the government, didn’t he?” the tattooed man asked.

“Yeah,” Katie responded, studying him. 

“What if she’s some… experiment.” 

“What?” B’Elanna responded on behalf of everyone else in the room. 

“I heard that the virus was started by the government, and got out of control--“

“That’s a rumor,” Katie responded curtly.

“Is it? And what’s with the metal? And her name, Seven of Nine?” 

Seven gulped silently, shifting her focus to Katie’s reaction. 

After a long moment, Katie took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter.” 

“Like hell it doesn’t!” Chuck moved toward Katie but Seven was quicker. She slid in front of B’Elanna and placed her body in between Katie and Chuck. She scanned the room, noting the surprised looks and the dark anger in Chuck’s eyes.

“I will not permit you to injure or cause harm to any of the Janeways.” 

“Seven...” 

A deep, throaty voice behind her sent goosebumps along her skin. A warm hand with long, perfect fingers wrapped around her arm and gently pulled her away so she could be a part of the conversation once again. 

“I appreciate your concern,” Katie gave Seven a lopsided smile and then turned to Chuck, “and I appreciate your opinion. We all have questions, and I believe they will be answered in due time. Right now, I think we all need to take a break.” 

Chuck seemed to take that well and backed off, and although her hand was securely wrapped around Seven’s forearm, she noted how tense the blonde remained. 

“Let’s take a break for a bit, hm? I think it’s about lunch time. Let’s all get freshened up. Tank, take Harry and go for a sweep.” 

Tank nodded and Harry followed as they headed out of the house. Seven remained nearby Katie, though she found herself feeling awkward and unsure as Katie’s hand remained around her arm. She glanced toward the kitchen and found Phoebe and Gretchen waving her over. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced at Kathryn. 

“You better go. Those Janeways are pretty pushy,” Katie winked and released her arm with a gentle pat.

Seven bowed her head, gave Chuck a glare and then followed the other two Janeways into the kitchen. 


	3. Chapter 3

“They weren’t too bad, were they?” Katie smiled and patted Seven’s knee.

“We were good!” Phoebe interjected. She and Gretchen looked to each other and a faint smile grew on Seven’s lips.

Her cheeks warmed as she realized Katie was eyeing her with a bit of pleasant surprise. Katie turned back to the rest of the table. “Why do I feel like that’s not the whole story…”

Tom, B’Elanna, Harry, and Owen all shared an amused laugh. Despite the circumstances, Seven was confused by the casual, normal gathering. This group appeared to be quite friendly and relaxed. There was only one other human being she knew that had shown even a spark of decency, and he had died because of her.

Setting down her fork, she slipped her hands into her lap and stared at the image of a peach emblazoned on her plate.

A warm hand snaked onto hers and Katie leaned in toward her, lowering her voice. “Are you all right?”

Seven looked up to meet blue-grey eyes. She studied the shifting colors in her eyes, the fine black eyelashes, the elegant, sharp cheeks, and blushed before quickly removing her hands and taking up the fork again.

“Yes,” she mumbled as she quickly shoveled a glob of mashed potatoes into her mouth.

A few seats down, Phoebe watched the interaction with a sneaking suspicion. She glanced toward B’Elanna who raised an eyebrow, also noting the exchange. Glancing at her mother, Gretchen pursed her lips as if telling her to mind her own business. That was something she could never do.

“You know,” she said, breaking the casual silence in the dining room. “I think our new friend here should get a tour of the farm. Maybe Katie can show you.”

Seven blinked at the youngest Janeway before turning to Katie. The redhead seemed to be bothered by Phoebe’s suggestion, but before she could reply, another voice interrupted.

He came into the room just as Phoebe made her suggestion and immediately scoffed. “That’s a bad idea,” he stated as he dominately leaned over and around Katie to pick up an apple at the center of the table.

Seven squinted as she watched the burly man walk around to the empty seat between B’Elanna and Harry. He pulled the chair out and turned it around, straddling it as he loudly lay his heavy pistol on the table. “We don’t even know who she is,” Chuck chewed a mouthful of apple.

“So we’re just going to throw her out?” B’Elanna snapped back.

“I didn’t say that,” he uttered under his breath menacingly. “She may be useful.”

“Useful?” Harry questioned quietly, then cowered as Chuck scowled at him.

“I think we should keep her in the barn until we figure out what to do with her.”

“What?!” Phoebe and B’Elanna said at the same time.

Katie waved her hand before things got worse. “We are not making anyone do anything, especially locking them away in the barn. We are not a prison,” she explained clearly to Chuck.

“‘Course. So we’ll just show her everything? Give her a gun while you're at it. Let her kill half of you before we can stop her.”

“I do not intend to harm anyone,” Seven annunciated as she straightened in her seat. “Unless that person, creature or monster,” she eyed him coldly, “threatens harm to the Janeways.”

Chuck smiled devilishly. “Yep, this is the person you all want to show around the farm like we’re on some sort of family vacation. What happens when she leaves and comes back with her own group?”

“Enough.” Katie uttered and rose from her chair. “Seven is welcome to stay with us, or leave, at any time.” She turned to the blonde from across the other side of the dining table. “You are not a prisoner.”

Seven nodded once.

“That being said,” Katie addressed the whole table once more. “It wouldn’t be wise to be lax, as everyone’s safety is the primary objective here.” She turned once more to the blonde, still speaking from across the room so that everyone was part of the conversation.

“I would like to ask you a few questions, if I may?”

Chuck scoffed again and then raised his hands in the air to show sarcastic surrender, holding his apple in his teeth like a roasting pig.

“You may proceed,” Seven replied.

“You say you know—knew, Edward Janeway.” A nod in agreement. “How?”

“I have been a consultant with many branches of the government. We met in a board meeting with the Chief of Staffs. He had many questions about my line of work and we became acquaintances.”

Katie glanced at her mother to check on her, and found her smiling, obviously living in a memory of the past.

“How did you know where to find us?” Katie continued.

“Edward Janeway told me where to go.”

“When?”

Seven glanced at her hands resting on the table. She spoke softer, keeping her eyes down. “Three hours and 26 minutes before he died.”

Katie gulped. It wasn’t exactly what she meant. She decided that hearing the details of her father’s death, in this setting, wasn’t right. She switched the line of questioning. “What is your intention being here now?”

“As I have stated,” she looked up again, “I have sworn to protect all the remaining Janeways from harm.”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?”

“How can I prove I am?” Seven countered.

No matter how suspicious she knew she ought to be, Katie was finding it harder and harder to pretend like she didn’t trust the stranger. “I’ll open the questions up to everyone, if that’s all right?”

Seven nodded once.

“What’s your line of work?” B’Elanna asked.

“Technology.”

‘That it?” Chuck took a large bite out of a thick piece of bread. “Just ‘technology’?”

“Most of my work is classified, however, I can say that I specialize in experimental technology involving the intersectional nature of living matter and industrial science.”

“Classified?” Harry questioned quietly, not really picking up on the rest of what she said. “Is there even any government left?”

Seven could feel everyone’s eyes burning into her skull. “...Upon my last few transmissions with other government officials, there appears to be pockets across the world that have been able to survive and work on further development of a vaccine.”

“A little late,” B’Elanna added under her breath. Tom clasped his hand over hers and they shared a sad smile.

“When was your last transmission?” Chuck interjected suspiciously.

She pursed her lips before finally acquiescing. “Two years and 240 days ago.”

He scoffed as looks of disappointment and fear went around the table. Her heart pounded as she saw the light in Katie’s eyes dim.

After a few long moments, Katie shook off the brief wave of hopelessness and shifted back to the table. “Any more questions?”

“Yeah, kind of.” Phoebe spoke up, turning to Seven. “If you decide to stay with us, Seven, we’re like family here. My big sis is a hard ass,” she smiled, knowing how it irked Katie, “but she does it for a good reason. We look out for one another. Backstabbing isn’t gonna fly. Drama isn’t tolerated. We all try to connect to one another as best as we can.”

Seven wondered if she was informing her or reminding Chuck as Phoebe glanced his way.

“Do you think you can do that? Do you want to do that?”

Seven looked over the many earnest faces at the table, Phoebe, Gretchen, Harry, and the irked, angry look from Chuck before settling on Katie. Only Owen and Tank were missing as they were on patrol. The short redhead had both her hands on her hips, powerfully poised, but her eyes soft and curious beneath the near-stoic facade.

She returned to Phoebe’s waiting eyes. A nod of her head was subtle but poignant, carrying a weight to it that the others seemed to feel.

Gretchen smiled warmly at her, “We’re very glad to have you here, Seven.”

A light blush rose to her cheeks before Chuck made a ruckus as he slid his chair out from the table. “I’m going back on patrol.” He grabbed a few more pieces of bread, his pistol, and then disappeared out the front door.

“So!” Phoebe returned to her playful demeanor. “I think Katie was about to take you on a tour!”

*****

The leaves crunched under their feet as they made their way around the fence that lined the back side of the house. Walking side-by-side, Seven glanced at Katie, unable to stop staring at the copper and gold specks of her auburn hair.

“So, what do you think of our little farm?” Katie asked with a demure smile, keeping her attention on the leaf laden path.

Seven glanced around their surroundings, noting the house and farm, almost as if she could see how it once looked before the world ended. Despite some of the wear and tear over the last five years since everything fell apart, a tiny smile reached her lips.

“What?” Katie stopped to lean against the white fence on her elbow, looking up with a crooked smile at the blonde.

“It is quaint.”

A bark of laughter was Katie’s first response. She carefully fingered the cracked white paint of the fence, drawing their attention to the flakes that crumbled.

“You grew up here.”

“Yes.”

She looked off into the distance and Seven noticed the light dust of freckles across her neck, her rather thin frame, and the lean muscle apparent through her tight fitting brown shirt and gun steel gray cargo pants. Even the pistol slung around her waist on a belt, and the holster on her left thigh seemed somehow more appealing on her than Seven had thought of anyone else.

“We grew up here, me and Phoebs.” Katie glanced at her with a sad smile. “I always thought there would be a time when I would return, many years in the future. Well, here I am.”

Seven remained still as she watched the varying emotions wash over Katie’s features. Despite what Katie was explaining, she couldn’t push away the feeling that she’d met her before. But she wouldn’t have forgotten the penetrating blue-gray eyes, the long thin fingers, her soft yet steely energy, both commanding and comforting.

Her cheeks colored slightly when she realized the grey eyes were looking back at her. Ripping her sight away, she examined the yellow, red, brown, and juniper green leaves on the caked dirt beneath their boots.

“May I ask you something?”

Katie’s breathy voice drew Seven to her like a moth to flame. She mustered a definitive nod.

“Does it hurt?”

She tilted her head slightly to the left as she contemplated what the smaller woman was implying. “Oh,” she whispered, lightly running her metal-tipped fingers over her blonde hair near her facial implant. She shook her head. “It does not.”

Katie’s mouth opened and then closed twice before Seven stepped in. “You are welcome to touch it.”

“Really?” Katie’s eyebrows nearly crawled her off her forehead. She quickly righted her reaction and the familiar detached, difficult to read expression replaced her surprise.

“Indeed,” Seven responded with a twinkle in her eye. “If you would like to.”

“I would.” A lopsided smile.

Seven placed her hands behind her back and slightly leaned forward and down so that the shorter woman would be able to examine it more effectively. A bit of amusement filled her when she saw how hesitant Katie was in touching her, only because this was the same person who had held her metal laced hand between her own for many hours, according to Phoebe and Gretchen.

Despite that, Seven gasped quietly when Katie’s fingers brushed over the metal. Yanking her hand away quickly, the auburn haired woman looked to her as if she thought she’d badly hurt her.

“I am not damaged,” Seven responded. She remained leaning forward near her. “It is only sensitive.”

Once again reluctantly, Katie reached out, this time making firmer contact and running the pads of her fingers along the grooves from right to left. Lifting her hand and going back over once again, she traced the grooves higher on the implant.

Her breathing shallow, Seven closed her eyes and fell into the sensation permeating through her body. The heat from Katie’s breath against her cheek and the scent of her light perfume sunk into her bones, causing a familiar feeling, as if they had done this before, long ago. A whisper of a memory that she couldn’t quite hold onto, especially as the stroking fingers remained in play.

Then, the sensation ceased and she was released. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked down into deep blue pools that pinned her to her spot.

Katie remained between the fence and the blonde woman, her voice dropping lower, husky. “I know this is going to sound strange, but I feel like I know you. But I would remember meeting you,” she gave a wry scoff, “But you seem so familiar to me.”

Unsure how to respond, Seven straightened up once more and let out a silent breath. The spell broken, she and Katie both turned to continue the tour around the farm.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again folks, this does not have a beta. This story wouldn’t leave me alone, so I’m getting it down in the Halloween spirit. :) Thanks for reading and commenting!

Three weeks later. 

  
  


Seven stiffly extricated herself from Katie’s bedroom, her temporary room until other sleeping arrangements could be made. Seven thought it was strange how slow things took even after the end of the world. But there was always something that needed to be done. Repairs and daily work took double the time when one had to use salvaged wood, metal and tools. 

Joining Harry and B’Elanna at the dining table, she quietly sat in a seat at the other end. While most of her new acquaintances seemed to have forgotten about her ability to heal quickly, and didn’t seem to stare quite as long at her implants, others still seemed wary. Harry was difficult to read. B’Elanna ran hot and cold. Tom was a bit nosy. Tank had become a friend, even in the short time she’d known him. He didn’t mind silence, and he showed her some of his breathing exercises when she inquired about them. She hoped that all three Janeway women like her.

“Sorry! It’s coming!” Phoebe backed into the room holding three large plates, one balanced on her forearm and one in each hand1. She slid the large plates onto the table before hurrying back to the kitchen. As the others made their way into the house, Seven removed herself from the table and went into the kitchen. 

Gretchen was cooking up a storm while Phoebe dashed back and forth. 

“Where may I be of assistance?” Seven inquired standing out of the way of the two Janeways. 

“Oh! We’re just running a bit late,” Gretchen smiled. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead and she hastily wiped it away. 

Seven didn’t like the tiredness she saw in the eldest Janeway and very carefully swooped in. “You must occasionally allow yourself to be catered to.” 

Gretchen used a clean rag to dry her face and took a few breaths. “I guess I can’t cook like I used to. Much help I am!” 

Seven stirred the large pan of scrambled eggs and flipped over the slices of ham and bacon. “You are of much help.” 

Gretchen swatted her gently with the towel. “Come now. Don’t lie to an old woman.” 

Phoebe barreled into the room, picked up the dishes that were ready and took them out to the table. 

“It is not a lie, Mrs. Janeway,” Seven turned to her while keeping her eye on the stove. “You are a valued member of this community. I have seen and heard the others speak very highly of you, more than anyone else here.” 

Gretchen gave her a sad smile that reminded Seven of the one she occasionally saw from Kathryn. The food done, Seven turned off the stove, plated both dishes and was just setting them on the counter when Phoebe swept them away and took off. 

“Are you ready to eat?” Seven asked, standing in front of Gretchen. The elder woman leaned against the center island with her head down. Seven tilted her head to the right when she heard the soft cry from the older woman.

Seven carefully tugged her hands away from her tear streaked cheeks. “Why are you sad?” She witnessed Gretchen attempt to steel herself, but it didn’t work. As the tears began again, Seven gently pulled her into an embrace and allowed the older woman to cry into her shoulder. 

She could hear the clinking of plates and silverware and knew everyone was starting their hearty meals. A large breakfast was a tradition, Phoebe had explained, whenever a team was going on a supply run. 

Seven hoped the larger meal would delay anyone from noticing their absence, but just as she thought it, the swinging door opened and Katie silently entered the kitchen. 

She bit her tongue to avoid saying anything, but at the sound of the soft sobs of her mother, she froze in place. Seven watched her from across the kitchen and Kathryn watched her back. Locked once again, they both listened to Gretchen’s quiet weeping. Seven noted the slight lift of Katie’s eyebrows and the sadness that replaced the sparkle in her eyes. She wanted to reach out and pull her into an embrace as well. 

Katie gave the tall blonde a subtle nod and a half smile. It was all she could manage, but she hoped Seven understood that she was grateful to her for taking care of her mother.

After a few long minutes, Gretchen began to sniffle and pull away from Seven. With one final look of appreciation, Kathryn quickly removed herself from the kitchen before her mother noticed her presence. 

“I’m so sorry, your shirt, and I’m such a mess!” Gretchen shook her head. 

“You have nothing to apologize for, Mrs. Janeway.” 

She gave her a smile after wiping her face with the rag. “We better go join them before they think we ran off together.” 

Seven chuckled as she held her arm out to escort her. Gretchen took it but remained still.

“I’m very glad you’re here, Seven. It was just like my Edward to find someone so kind… and force them to be a friend,” she smiled. “I’m very happy that you knew each other.” 

“I am happy as well.” She glanced toward the swing door and thought of Katie fondly. “I feel…” 

Gretchen waited as a smile grew across her lips. She patted the blonde’s arm. “You better eat well if you’re planning on going into town with them.” She tugged Seven along with her into the dining room.

  
  


*****

  
  


Seven hadn’t really given it much thought, but once Gretchen had mentioned going on the run into town she couldn’t ignore it. If Katie was going, she wanted to go as well, and make sure she would be all right. 

“I would like to go,” she interrupted the side conversations abruptly near the end of the meal.

For a moment, Katie’s heart dropped, but she realized quickly that the blonde was talking about the run. 

A scoff from across the table met Seven almost immediately, but she wasn’t surprised Chuck would disagree. Katie and Tank looked at one another, silently communicating. Meanwhile, Phoebe, Gretchen and Harry began clearing the table. B’Elanna excused herself along with Tom, before Phoebe and Owen exited the house together to take watch. 

Chuck, Tank, Katie and Seven were scattered around the dining table. 

Tank spoke into the silence first. “It would give us the opportunity to try to get into Hansen’s.” 

“You think she can do that?” Chuck jeered. 

“I have seen Seven demonstrate notable strength. I believe she would be able to assist us in this matter.” 

Chuck shook his head and rolled his eyes. Everyone turned their attention to Katie who ran the pads of her fingers along her bottom lip, back and forth, thinking hard. Seven forced herself to look elsewhere, remembering the sensation of Kathryn’s fingers on her implant, and the thought of feeling the redhead’s lips against her own made her stomach flip-flop.

“We’re getting low on a lot of supplies,” Katie thought aloud. 

“We have no idea how many walkers could be in there!” Chuck argued. “We shouldn’t go in without being prepared for at least a dozen.” 

“It’s possible there’s only a few, maybe even none,” she retorted. “Tank?” 

“It is a resource we cannot afford to ignore. We should utilize what we can before the items are ruined, or taken by some other group, or before the building collapses from age.” 

Katie nodded. “Okay.” She turned to Seven. “We’ll leave in fifteen. Meet by the east gate. Make sure to get a pistol from Owen… You’re sure about this?” In truth, she knew the blonde could very well take care of herself, but the thought of something going wrong didn’t sit well.  _ This is why you don’t get attached to people, Katie, _ she chided herself.  _ You’re already spread too thin. Mom, Phoebe, Owen… and new friends who have proven themselves to be a wonderful team. But falling in love— _ Katie went wide-eyed as she looked down at the table.  _ Love? Is that what this is?  _ Her mind spun until Seven’s voice broke the whirling ideas. 

“I am certain, Kathryn.” 

_ Kathryn. No one calls me that. But, it sounds so familiar when she says it.  _ Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Fifteen minutes.” She reminded her before hurrying away from the dining room and out the front door.    
  


Not long after, Seven eyed the group standing by the east gate. She double checked her weapon and pulled the tight blue shirt down from around her neck. Phoebe was not the right person to borrow clothing from, but she had offered, at least until Seven could find some more clothing. 

She was about twenty yards away, on the dirt path when she happened to notice Kathryn watching her from afar. She gulped and paused for a moment before taking her next stride. A hand around her bicep stopped her. 

Seven started at the sudden grasp and Phoebe grimaced. “Sorry! I just wanted to offer you something…” 

Seven noted that Kathryn watched them from a far, keeping a subtle but not unnoticeable eye on them. 

“It’s about Katie.” 

Seven immediately turned her attention to the youngest Janeway in front of her. She was even younger up close than she appeared from further away. She had her father’s hair, and her mother’s lips. And although she was quite charming, Seven noticed she lacked the deep penetrating eyes that her older sister had.  _ Odd,  _ Seven thought,  _ we are a little closer in age but I am not drawn to who is otherwise a beautiful young woman.  _

“Listen,” Phoebe glanced around nervously and Seven followed her roaming spying. “I—I’m not really sure what’s going on, and as everyone here likes to remind me, nothing is my business.” She smiled and then lowered her voice more, setting a hand on Seven’s arm. “Katie’s been without her greatest love for two years now.” 

Seven’s heart dropped as images of Kathryn with someone else popped into her mind. 

Phoebe grinned devilishly, “Coffee.” 

Frowning, Seven looked up at her. 

“Her greatest love is coffee. As much as I find my sister a tad on the annoying side,” Phoebe shook her head, “she’s taken care of all of us here. They’ve hit up all the stores in a ten mile radius, except Hansen’s.  _ If  _ you wanted to do something for her…” 

Seven remained frowning as she nodded once. 

“Be safe,” Phoebe responded as she headed back to Owen. 

_ Curious,  _ Seven thought. As she continued her walk to the fence and the waiting crew, she hid her growing smile into her chest.  _ Coffee.  _

  
  


*****

The crunch of gravel under their boots seemed to echo louder.  _ Even after all this time, I’m still not used to the lack of noise. _ Katie walked behind Tank at the front of their small train and behind her, Chuck’s heavy steps were unmistakable. Behind him, following at the very back, Seven of Nine strode nearly silently. 

Katie fought the impulse to look behind her and make sure Seven was there—and when the thought of  _ love  _ came up again, she quickly shoved it down. 

Four hours later, they reached the metal at the end of the compact alleyway. Tank held up a fist for everyone to hold their position, and everyone quieted as they listened. 

At first, Seven heard nothing but the wind, dead leaves skittering on the ground and the clang of a flagpole above, where a delipidated green flag barely held on. Then, softly, in the distance she picked up the faint shuffling of feet and low, intermittent moans.  _ One, two, four, six—no, four. Four distinct walkers nearby. Down the alley and around to the east.  _

“Okay,” Chuck whispered. 

Seven quickly put a finger to her lips and grabbed his arm. Before he could react, the four walkers, moving in a small herd, passed by the entrance of the alley some ten feet away. 

Everyone froze, hoping not to alert the undead with any sound, and Seven hoped the wind was going in the other direction. If they could by chance detect living flesh by scent, they would be caught. One of the undead stumbled and fell onto the cement. 

It was difficult to tell the gender, Seven realized, as the head was rather veiny and bald, and it’s clothes were doused in blood and guts beyond recognition. Still, she had the distinct feeling the creature was once a woman. 

It rose from the ground, it’s head low against its chest as it stood facing them. Gulping, Seven quickly began going through the various outcomes. She needed a weapon that wasn’t a gun. If it came to the fence, if it sensed them, she’d need a way to kill it quickly and silently. She needed a blade. While she scanned the area around them without moving an inch, the walker swayed in place for a moment. Finally, it staggered around and continued along the sidewalk out of view. 

A collective sigh came from each one in the group and then Seven felt all of their attention focused on her. 

Katie moved around Chuck and in between them. She lowered her voice still, even standing close to her. “How did you know?” 

Seven glanced around at the group before simply pointing to her ear. She barely voiced her thought, trying to keep as quiet as possible. “Where is the store? I may be able to hear if there are any inside.” 

Katie awarded her with a large smile as Katie’s hand gently connected with her lower back. 

The redhead eyed Tank, “lead the way.” 


	5. Chapter 5

Seven lay on the ground, her ear pressed against the east wall of the store where a puncture had been created. She closed her eyes, staining to listen for any sounds at all. The flapping of a birds wing. The skitter of a rat. Animals had found their way in, but so far she only counted three distinct walkers. All three lingered where the west well and storefront met. A vehicle had run into the corner of the building and while the three walkers had a view of the outside, they’d been pinned between the metal and a reinforced pillar. Whether they died before or after being hit would always remain a mystery. 

She slid out from her spot, sitting up on the broken concrete as she met Kathryn squatting beside her. Chuck and Tank’s backs faced them while they stayed low behind a Jersey barrier to keep an eye out for trouble. 

“Anything?” Kathryn inquired quietly. 

She shook her head, “Just the three in the front.” 

“I thought so. With the truck blocking the back door, and the garage locked from the inside…” She turned to Tank and Chuck behind her. “I think we’re ready.” 

Chuck squatted down while Tank kept watch. “And we’re just going to believe her?” 

Katie didn’t acknowledge Chuck's snide delivery. “It’s time.” 

“I will be the distraction,” Seven stated. 

“No,” Katie retorted. 

“I am the fastest.” 

Chuck scoffed.

Katie placed a hand on Seven’s shoulder, not missing the musculature under the cotton material. She slid her hand across the hem and gently gripped her bicep. “You don’t know the area,” she responded hoarsely. Clearing her throat and removing her grip, her lips formed a firm straight line and her jaw tensed in her focus. “Tank is our runner. He knows the layout like the back of his hand.” 

Seven glanced over Kathryn’s black form-fitting shirt, and then locked into the brilliant blue-gray eyes. “Perhaps I should assist him.” 

“We need you here.” Katie severed her connection to the ice-blue irises. “There’s no way just Chuck and I can move the car blocking the entrance, even while the walkers are distracted.” 

Seven thought it odd that Harry, B’Elanna or Tom hadn’t been selected to do this with them long ago. “What is the problem?” 

“I hope you’re as strong as you claim to be,” Chuck said as he and Katie shared a look.

Seven stretched her exoskeleton fingers at the exchange. Chuck turned back to keeping watch and Seven took a small breath of relief. She kept her head down slightly while she waited for Kathryn to acknowledge her once more, despite the fact that the silent, knowing exchange between Kathryn and Chuck had unsettled her.

“A car ended up in front of the doors, and another car hit that one.” Katie wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “We haven’t been able to get the metal of the door unwound from the building door. And we’ve been reluctant to make noise in case there were walkers inside.” She took a breath before briefly looking up at Seven from under her eyelashes. A foreign rise in her heartbeat pulled her attention back to the cement below their feet. 

“Could you not outrun them?” 

She dusted off her hands, brushing them together and littering the ground with granules of the broken concrete. “You reached the farm from the north side. You haven’t seen what's east of town.” 

“Let’s get a move on,” Chuck whispered back toward them. 

Tank seized the opportunity to expedite the conversation and rested on his knees in front of the two women. “There are thousands.” 

“Of what?” Seven inquired genuinely. 

“Walkers,” Katie answered. 

Tank continued, “there is a quarry. Many have fallen into it. While it was not a problem for two years, the number of bodies continues to grow. We believe that a chain reaction could lead to movement of the mass.” 

“Which,” Katie ran her fingers across her forehead stressfully, “could lead to any number of things. But assuming they were to break through the weakest part of the structure…” 

Seven noted the intense, troubled lines around Kathryn’s eyes and mouth. They seemed to become more defined, deeper, more pronounced. 

Then she realized. “It leads to the farm.” 

Katie gave her a humorless smile. “Directly. They’d rip through like it was tissue paper. And with mom, and Uncle Owen, and Tom’s broken leg… Phoebe’s still so inexperienced, unprepared for this world...” 

Unhappy to see the trouble lines growing still in definition, Seven lay her hand carefully on Katie’s knee. She waited until the deep blue-grey eyes met hers. “I understand, Kathryn. We must go undetected.” 

  
  


*****

“Where are you guys?” Katie whispered into the window as she looked out across Kessing Street. 

Seven watched Katie in the dim front room of the boutique. The falling light shone mutely through the windows covered with newspaper and cardboard. Nearly an entire wall made of glass—it wasn’t Seven’s first choice of venue. But Kathryn had said they used Wylde’s Fashion in other instances, though never over night. 

Stepping away from the door frame of the back room, Seven slipped behind the counter to see if there were any items to scavenge. A small wicker basket buried beneath a cash register drawer proved to be a great find. She grabbed the four packs of stale cheese crackers. 

With dusk falling fast, Seven moved across the room, stepping over piles of trashed clothing and turned over display shelves. “We must move to the other room,” she said quietly. 

“Kathryn,” Seven spoke again as she moved beside her. 

“I know,” the husky voice responded. Katie looked up at the raised eyebrows. The open look of concern and worry made her take a shaky breath. She pulled herself away from the window. Glancing at the front area, she noted the locked front door and the heavy shelf case that blocked it. 

“Thanks.” Katie turned around to smile at the blonde but found she had already walked a few paces away and was holding open the back room door. She didn’t try to hide her amusement at the gesture and shook her head as she stepped over the threshold.

Seven followed her in and secured that door as well, locking it and placing an empty mini-fridge in front of it. It wasn’t much of an added barricade, but it would buy them a few extra seconds if they needed it. 

A battery powered lantern sat in the corner, illuminating the windowless square room, which Katie thought seemed more like a glorified closet. 

She smiled again as she looked over at the ‘beds’ made of piles of clothing, one shorter and one longer. The short one was in the furthest corner of the room and the other ‘bed’ lay in between it and the door, like another barricade. 

“I don’t think anyone’s getting in,” Katie grinned as she nodded at the cot where Seven gracefully planted herself. 

“One cannot be too careful.” 

She nodded, that was true. So many mistakes had been made in those first two years. Lives lost from people not being careful enough. This world had taught her how to live by her wits and her cunning, and what a leader had to do to maintain the morale of a crew on a sinking ship. It was rewarding, it was only partially optional, and it had its larger sacrifices. Objectivity was maintained through distance. Emotional, physical and psychological. Even with her mother and sister—especially with them. Dad would’ve been proud of his first daughter, she hoped.

“I was able to procure something,” Seven said as she looked at Katie sitting on her cot. The redhead snapped out of her train of thought. 

“Oh really?” She asked incredulously, not without humor. “And that would be?” 

Seven dug into the backpack she picked up in Hansen’s and rummaged through the contents. 

Katie watched with a lopsided grin. Seven had the excitement of a little kid on Halloween going through her candy. She held back her laugh and felt herself blush for a reason that didn’t totally elude her.  _ She is  _ not _ cute.  _

“Here it is.” Seven pulled out the item from her backpack. 

In the dim glow of the lantern light, Katie couldn’t make out the dark-colored bag. “I can’t see it. Come over here.” She patted the seat of the clothing-bed beside her. She noticed the blonde seemed to stiffen at the request. “It’s just hard to see,” she smiled warmly, trying her best to make the younger woman more comfortable. 

Seven silently gathered up her backpack and the item, and took the one step over to Kathryn’s. She lay her backpack carefully at the end and sat herself beside Kathryn. 

“Now I can see you,” Katie purred. Surprising herself with the deep tone of her voice, she cleared her throat and tried to relax. “So, what did you find?” 

The blonde turned away and grabbed the item. “For you.” 

Seven turned back but Katie fell right into the deep ice blue eyes in the orangey light, not even glancing at whatever was in her hands. Seeing her close up again, she remembered how the metal implants felt under her fingertips—warm, almost buzzing, smooth and rough at the same time. With her eyes, she outlined the curve of Seven’s lips, the dark brown eyelashes and the accompanying sweet and citrusy scent. 

Seven waited in a daze as Kathryn looked her over with slightly lidded eyes and a lick of her lips that she didn’t seem to realize she’d done. Holding the bag on her own lap, she began to squeeze the top of it as the impulse to lean in flooded her thoughts. When Katie’s eyes closed as she took in a quiet breath.

Seven slid the bag off her lap and reached up to touch Kathryn’s jawline with her mesh covered hand. A slight gasp met her, but when Kathryn didn’t move away, Seven continued the caress down to her chin before trailing her fingers back up in a soft stroke. The worry lines lessened as Kathryn’s cheeks reddened enough to be noticed in the artificial light.

Katie opened her eyes to find Seven leaning forward. As soon as the tender, warm lips pressed against her own, her eyes fluttered close. Soft, sweet, gentle. Smooth and silky. She responded without volition, her mouth fitting precisely with Seven’s, and a sprouting flush of liquid fire fountaining from her core. 

Sliding her hands around Seven’s neck, Katie ardently returned the intoxicating kiss. She was pulled flush against the cushioned chest, whimpering as she deepened their embrace, Seven’s tongue making its way inside her mouth. The way they fit together flared her pleasure and Katie moaned into the inviting warmth.

_ More,  _ was the only thing Seven could think. Just,  _ more.  _ She slid her hands around Kathryn’s waist, then trailed her hands up and down along her spine. Kathryn’s moan reverberated into her and for an eternal moment she understood the meaning of perfection. 

Katie pulled away with a suck of air. Panting, she opened her eyes to find Seven’s eyes still firmly shut, her arms still wrapped around her securely. A moment later, they opened and Katie’s blood pounded harder at the dilated, heavy, hungry eyes. 

She feared she wore a similar, vulnerable expression.  _ Too vulnerable.  _

Suddenly realizing her indulgence, she quickly but carefully broke the embrace and immediately felt the cool, stale air surround her in place of Seven’s warmth. She sat forward on the cot once more, the view of the fridge a few feet away the only thing to occupy her. 

Seven inconspicuously wiped her mouth as Kathryn returned to her initial position on the cot and she slid back to her own, leaving a good eight inches between them. Still a bit breathless, she eyed Kathryn a few times while they sat in the quiet. The look she’d seen on Kathryn’s face—it was unlike any she’d seen before. Familiar, but only in the sense of possibly having dreamed it, if she’d ever dreamt a day in her life, which she hadn’t. Wanting to assuage any fears Kathryn may have had, she picked up the forgotten bag and held it up in her hands with an unassuming little smile. 

Katie slowly turned toward her, meeting her eyes for a moment before looking down and gasping. She covered her mouth with her hand as she stared wide-eyed at the bag. 

Seven instantly wondered if she’d made a mistake, or if Phoebe had perhaps even misled her, but in the next instant Katie had flung her arms around her. Though brief, Seven blushed at the returning warmth and enjoyed watching Kathryn gawk at the bag, utterly stunned. 

“I can’t believe you got this.” Katie vacillated between ogling Seven and ogling the bag, finally landing on the bag.

Seven grinned. “There are more.” 

Kathryn turned to her slowly with a similar devilish smile that she’d seen on Phoebe. This one however, made her blood rush to her head, singing with heat. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, no beta. It is what it is. Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting! <3

Waking up in the dark closet, Katie felt warmth against her hand. She looked over and found Seven’s arm outstretched from her cot. Both their hands lay against one another’s on the floor and Katie nearly yanked hers away in initial shock. But as Seven began to stir, she quickly closed her eyes and feigned sleep. 

Seven peeked open her eyes in the dark room. She stretched her neck back and forth a few times before realizing she was holding onto something in her left hand. She turned and found Kathryn’s hand in her own, their fingers interlaced somewhat awkwardly.  _ Strange. _

She lifted her hand carefully, doing her best to keep Kathryn from waking. But before she could let go entirely, she found herself drawn to the lines in Kathryn’s palm and her delicate but strong fingers. Seven lightly traced the lines, following the grooves passing across the center of her palm. 

Another strange impulse threatened to emerge and Seven quickly pulled herself away and rose on the other side of her cot. Clicking on the lantern, she quietly dug through a pile of clothing in the corner of the small room. She pulled out a navy blue shirt with white lace sleeves that started at the hem of the shoulder and went an inch or so past the wrist in a style she assumed was supposed to be Victorian-esque.

Katie opened her eyes slightly to find Seven on her knees in the other corner holding up a blue shirt. Her hand continued to tingle, sending tickles down her arm and she squeezed it into a fist in an attempt to block the sensations. She smiled as Seven frowned at the blouse like it was the most hideous thing she’d ever laid her eyes on. 

Propping herself up on her elbow, Katie tried once again not to let out an amused chuckle. “Not to your liking?” 

Seven started and looked across the small room at her briefly before examining it once more. “It is quite… unpleasing.” 

This time letting a little laugh escape, Katie realized how long it had been since she found anything at all amusing, other than her sister. And even she made Katie more worried than anything else. Her smile fell as she recalled her fears and concerns about her people--the only people she had left in the world, and a few of the only people the world had left.

A sharp ripping brought her back. Seven. This strange woman, with metal implants, who was now ripping the lace sleeves from the shirt. She couldn’t help but admire the simple solution. And the shirt did, in fact, look better sleeveless. 

“Mrs. Wyldman isn’t going to be happy about that.” 

Seven turned to her with a genuinely surprised expression which seemed to tickle the redhead. “Perhaps she should bill me.” 

“I’ll be sure to let her know,” Kathryn played with the forest green shirt she had slept on top of most of the night. “Although, I’d bet she’d like the new design just as well.” 

Seven once again laid eyes on her and Kathryn felt blood rush to her cheeks. She wanted to roll her eyes at her own reaction. Was she not  _ the _ mother of the impenetrable poker face? Yet one little look from this strange blonde woman, and she was a hot mess.  _ Get it together, Katie.  _

“We should probably--” Katie’s voice caught in her throat as she looked up. Seven had just pulled off her shirt and tossed it aside. Her eyes bugging out a little, Katie’s mouth went dry and she felt every molecule in her body freeze in its place. Seven’s soft, milky skin complemented the silvery metal implants— one of which wrapped around from her back to the front of her torso. 

Katie forced a painful, dry swallow as she traced the cushiony skin that covered powerful, fierce muscles. The simple black sports bra was like a band gently but efficiently contained more than Katie had been prepared to acknowledge. An unusually deep vee in the front showed off a plunge of Seven’s chest that stole Katie’s breath. Suddenly, the new blue shirt was up and being pulled over Seven’s head. The blonde curved her back and pushed her chest out to slip the shirt over completely, finally tugging the hem down and tucking it into her durable black pants.

Katie grew lightheaded and took a large breath of air as she tightly shut her eyes.

“Kathryn? Are you unwell?” 

She opened her eyes carefully. Clearing her throat, she sat up on the cot and began combing her hair down with her fingers. “Mm hm,” was all she could muster.

Seven stuffed her backpack with a number of other articles of clothing, as well as the items that had come out of her backpack the night before. The coffee, a tip she wanted to be sure to thank Phoebe for suggesting, had been carefully, purposefully put into Kathryn’s own bag by the redhead. Seven zipped her pack closed over the bulky mass, realizing she should’ve taken two or three of the backpack at Hansen’s. It only meant they’d need to come back at some point, and now she knew the lay of the land. A two-person operation would be more efficient in the future. 

She realized Kathryn had spoken while she changed and looked across the small room. “What were you saying before?” She inquired as she hefted the pack over her shoulder. 

“Hm? I don’t know.” Katie kept her eyes on the ground as she packed up her things as well. She stuffed in the forest green shirt, too. Even if it were a bit big for her, it’d be a fine sleep shirt.  _ Oh how Mrs. Wyldman would’ve gloated that she finally got Katie Janeway into one of her fashion items.  _

They completed their checks and both arrived in front of the mini-fridge at the same moment. A lopsided smile came without intention as she met Seven. The dark blue shirt not only enhanced Seven’s biceps, but drew attention to her ice blue eyes. Even her facial metal embellishments shined brighter, despite the dim room. 

Seven followed Kathryn’s gaze and noticed her examining the tiny bits of lace still hanging from the hem of the shoulder, then the scrutinizing frown which followed.

“You do not like it?” Seven questioned quietly. 

Katie froze once more. Having been caught, she willed her blush away and met the soft inquiry with a delicate, diffident smile. “It’s far less unpleasant now...” She swept her gaze briefly across Seven’s pink lips, recalling how warm and smooth they were against her own. “Pleasing,” she whispered. 

Seven pulled herself away from the redhead in an attempt to once again quell an impulse she wasn’t sure she could fight. “I will move this,” she stated and took hold of the cool metal of the mini-fridge. 

She shook her head at herself, not liking how robotic she sounded, nor how abrupt she’d been, or the unfortunate sound of the metal box scraping along the shiny concrete floor. She tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling as Kathryn once again scrutinized her, and finally opened the door. 

*****

Gretchen paced across the dining room while Phoebe drank down lukewarm water. Her hands were white against the thick glass from gripping it so tightly. This was always the worst part. It had happened before, more than a few times, but it was always like the first time. 

“What time is it?” Gretchen stopped suddenly in her pacing, her voice shaky and desperate. 

“It’s all right, Mrs. Janeway,” B’Elanna replied softly, putting a blanket over the older woman’s shoulders. “They’ll be back soon. You know how these things go.” 

“She’s right,” Tom interjected. “And you know Katie. Nothing can stop her.” 

Gretchen took another shaky breath before resuming her pacing. 

Meanwhile, Harry and Owen kept watch out in front of the house, keeping their eyes open for any sign of trouble. Be it an injured crew member, an active group of walkers or another group of people. 

“Why does it always seem like the night is restless when the team is gone?” Owen asked quietly of Harry beside him on the porch. 

“It does seem like the walkers can sense it, doesn’t it?” 

Owen strained his eyes looking over the fence line that went around the entire property. While shapes didn’t really hold, movement did, and after five years of night watches it wasn’t difficult to tell when something wasn’t right. Nothing was out of the ordinary, he realized, except for how they felt. With Katie gone, things had a way of feeling bleaker. 

Despite the chill of the evening wind, he and Harry would remain on the porch, keeping their eyes and ears open for any sign of the missing crew. 

Three hours later, everyone gravely drank tea around the living room until the front door swung open and they shot out of their seats. Tank and Harry assisted Chuck inside, who was holding his side and wincing. Owen quickly closed the door behind the three men to block the light His curiosity would have to wait. 

Inside, Chuck sunk into the sofa chair with a bit of a snarl mixed with a wince. B’Elanna swooped in quickly, her bag already waiting in the living room as it would on crew run days. 

“What happened?” Gretchen croaked, entirely aware that Katie and Seven were not present. 

Chuck slammed his fist down on the arm rest. “Stupid fu--” He bit his own tongue before he let the curse out. He’d need to stay on Gretchen’s good side if he wanted to sleep in the house this evening, though that rule had always been more brutally held up by Katie. 

Chuck grabbed onto the small pillow beside him on the chair while B’Elanna began to pull up his shirt to examine the wound.

While Chuck held on to avoid yelping or passing out, Tank stood tall in front of Gretchen and Phoebe. 

“Where is she?” Gretchen whispered. 

“We do not know.” Not one for emotion, he quirked his eyebrow as he felt a lump in his throat. Katie’s force-10 look was pale in comparison to her mother’s. 

“Those damn walkers! It took too long to lose them!” Chuck interjected, cutting off Tank. B’Elanna disappeared from the room to fetch another roll of gauze. “We ran into some trouble.”

“That’s obvious!” Phoebe snapped. “Where is my sister?!”

“After we raided Hansen’s, there was a herd that came through,” Tank explained. 

“Twenty, maybe more,” Chuck added. 

“We split up in an attempt to break up the group,” Tank continued, “as per Katie’s regulation.”

“That damn quarry,” Gretchen nearly spat under her breath. “I wish you could kill those walkers where they stand.”

“So, what happened?” Phoebe eyed Chuck suspiciously. She cringed at the memory of once, not very long ago, having a serious crush on the older man. He was handsome in his own, bear-like way, which she found comforting and interesting. That had changed when B’Elanna had accidentally told her that Chuck had been in love with Katie for years. The more she got to know him, to see him for who he really was, the less she trusted him. And his obvious disdain for Seven made her wonder how far he’d go. 

Tank responded for Chuck as B’Elanna cleaned the deep cut at his side. “We planned to meet them at Wyldman’s, like we usually do. By the time we had gotten the walkers far enough away, it had become dark. When we returned to Kessing, we found the second group of walkers still milling about.” 

Gretchen dipped her head, thinking loudly to herself. Phoebe seemed to be doing the same, though she kept her eyes trained on Tank’s. “Did you find--” her voice broke and she pushed through it clearly the second time, “did you find anything that suggests--” 

“No,” Tank interrupted the thought. “We thought perhaps they had returned here. Chuck left a flag for them shortly before he was injured.” 

*****

"They went back," Kathryn said as she ducked down behind a beat-up Ford. She held up a little blue flag that had been stuck on the top of a car in front of the grocery store.

Seven wasn't convinced by the golf flag. "That is your proof?"

Kathryn waved it before slipping into her pack. "It's something we figured out to communicate silently. I'll bet it took longer than they thought to shake 'em."

Seven eyed Kessing Street before they crossed the street silently to the other side. 

"Let's head back," Katie whispered as they watched a staggering walker pass by on the other side of their cover, a thick line of cars with their doors still open. If it weren't for the state of the world, it would appear everyone simply had to run into a store real quick. Or the kind of traffic jam behind a small town parade. Katie wiped the sweat accumulating at her temple. 

Seven nodded once. She stepped aside, leaning back against a blue, overturned mail deposit. Kathryn slipped through the space between her and the car. Following her, Seven ducked and moved around the strewn pieces of debris on the main street. Purses, money, toys and concrete splayed across the sidewalk. The broken windowfront of a donut shop was sprayed in a dark brown liquid with bits of clothing caught on the jagged glass edges. 

She waited, keeping an eye around them as Kathryn leaned around the corner of an alleyway. She pressed a finger to her lips and then silently and slowly made her way across the street. The toe of her boot nearly came down on a shard of glass before she caught sight of it. She glanced back at Seven, whose frown was taut across her forehead. Katie gave her a little wink before right herself and taking the last two steps to the other side. 

She glanced around the quiet street before waving at Seven to follow. 

Seven peeked her head around the alleyway to take a look. Her mouth fell open but she snapped it shut. A horde, at least fifteen, were aimlessly walking into the fence on the other side. Their backs to them, she eyed Kathryn with a bit of awe from the opposite corner. 

She righted herself, double checking her gun before holding it at her side. Halfway across, Seven glanced at the pile of walkers gently bumping into each other. Shirts, blouses, uniforms, work clothes—simply from their backs she could sense who they once were. A black item of clothing caught her eye. She squinted, trying to get a look through the walkers who never seemed to stop moving, no matter how uncoordinated or slow. 

A glimpse of a black veil or hood, like thick tulle. A quiet snap of fingers came from where Kathryn waited, but she tilted her head and searched the horde from her position. Seven put up her forefinger with the least amount of movement as possible. 

A walker in a baseball cap, whose left arm had been ripped away from the elbow continued to block her view. Seven suppressed her urge to charge into the horde and eliminate the group entirely. If Kathryn wanted to go unknown by the walkers, she would abide by the request, even as it came across more like an order. Orders never quite agreed with her, but she’d made many adaptations since the situation had changed. 

Another snap of the fingers drew her attention to Kathryn. The redhead splayed out her hands and raised her eyebrows, peeved and waiting for some sort of explanation. 

She took one more glance at the horde before leoninely arriving beside Kathryn. The redhead firmly kept her incredulous expression but finally turned and continued to lead them down the street. 


	7. Chapter 7

Seven paused by the twisted tree trunk, gently resting against it while Kathryn took a few chugs of her canteen. The way Kathryn stretched her neck upward and drank down the lukewarm water drew her total focus. While fairly petite, her lean build had not escaped Seven’s notice. She was obviously no stranger to hard work, and yet, the long thin fingers and delicate hands had been soft and tender against her implant. 

She yanked her focus away from the red head and pushed herself off of the tree. The canopy above them was a wonderful source of shade but the shadows it cast left the area more difficult to navigate. Seven scanned the area periodically for any movement. Though sometimes, she realized, the most obvious things eluded her. 

Coming back around the tree, she noticed a slanted piece of wood that had been attached to the trunk. Most of it was covered in dirt and dust but white paint lay poking out behind the layers. She wiped her hand across the smooth wood twice until the message became clear. Words in juvenile penmanship :  _ ready room _ . 

Seven frowned at the message.  _ Ready room?  _ She’d never heard the phrase, yet it held some familiarity, a lot like many other things that had come up recently. Kathryn, Tank, B’Elanna, and even Chuck. 

A throaty yet pinched scoff came from her right and she started to find Kathryn standing arm to arm beside her.  _ So much for being observant.  _ The redhead touched the top edge of the wood panel with a far away smile on her lips. 

“Do you know what this is?” Seven asked, studying the faint lines around her eyes.

“Yes,” Kathryn responded in a quiet, raspy voice. “I’d forgotten about this, though.” She looked up along the trunk and Seven followed suit. 

A series of wood slabs were affixed to the tree’s branches and reinforced with L-shaped planks. Seven wasn’t sure what she was looking at, other than it being a structure of some kind, and she turned back to Kathryn for an explanation. 

The redhead glanced her way with a coy smile, “Dad built it. It was  _ my _ treehouse  _ first, _ and don’t let Phoebe tell you otherwise.” 

“A tree-house?” 

“You never had one?” Kathryn asked with raised eyebrows. 

“No.” Seven examined the leaf laden ground beneath them. A warm hand wrapped around her bicep. She could hear her own breath, loud inside her head, before she met Kathryn’s blue-gray irises. 

“It’s not all it's made out to be, believe me.” 

Seven nodded once, unsure how to respond, never having been inside a treehouse. “What is its purpose?” 

“Oh. Hm. I don’t know that it has a ‘purpose,’ so to speak.” Kathryn reclaimed her hand and ran it through her hair. “It’s a part of childhood. A club house. A place away from parents. You know how children are, always wanting to have something that’s their own. Phoebe and I used to play ‘house’. You know, pretend it was ours and that we were older, or that it was some fancy apartment in New York or L.A. We had quite a few tea parties, too.” 

“Not— coffee parties?” She gave the redhead a small smile. The glittering warm light in Kathryn’s eyes filled her with weightless joy. 

Kathryn shook her head with a grin. “You know, I still use it occasionally.” 

“For... tea parties?” Seven asked. 

A bark of laughter from Janeway sent a blush across Seven’s cheeks. 

  
  


*****

  
  


“Where have you been?” Phoebe snapped as Katie stepped into the house and met her sister, whose arms were crossed with a deep scolding frown to match. 

She glanced behind her at Seven and winced briefly. “Save yourself.” When Seven quirked an eyebrow in response she had to hold back another chuckle. 

“Well?” Phoebe tapped her foot. 

Katie ignored her. “Where’s mom?” 

“She’s mad.” 

“Yes, I thought she would be. Where is she, Phoeb?” 

The youngest Janeway let out a labored breath and nodded down the hallway. “Her room.” 

“Is she sleeping?” Katie asked as she began to remove her heavy pack. She nearly jumped when Seven eased the pack off of her and carried it by the handle at the top. 

“You must tend to Mrs. Janeway,” Seven informed her. “Where would you like this to go?” 

Her first thought was her sister’s room, where she had been staying while they worked out a permanent solution for Seven.  _ But on second thought… _ “I got a few things I’d like to put away in my room, if you don’t mind. I shouldn’t be too long.” 

“Of course,” Seven responded with a nod. 

Katie reached out to touch the blonde woman’s arm and then pulled her hand back more abruptly than she meant. Seven left the two women in the living room.  _ Stop. Touching. Her. Why is that so difficult? _

She brushed past her sister and carefully made her way down the hall. Standing in front of her mother’s room, she rubbed her temple at the growing headache. The cherry wood door’s waxy finish had rubbed away in little sections, leaving little scratches from use over the years. 

How many times had she been in trouble and listened at her parents’ door to try to get wind of her punishment? How many times had she caught Phoebe doing the same? Somehow, those memories felt so far away. A different life entirely than this one. 

Seven’s voice, soft as it was, carried down the hall as she spoke with Phoebe in the other room. Katie soaked in the timbre. Not quite loud enough to make out words, but she didn’t need to know what was being said.  _ So soothing. And her touch—no! Not touching a woman I barely know doesn’t seem like a tall order. Keep your hands to yourself, Katie. It’s really not that hard!… But that kiss. What exactly was that? But the way it felt… But I’m being ridiculous. But the way she looks at me sometimes. The way she— _

Suddenly the door opened and Katie found herself eye to eye with her mother. 

“I could hear you thinking. I see you’re back.” 

Katie let out a soft breath as her mother gave her famous ‘you’re in trouble, child,’ look. But a wisp of an idea began to materialize in her mind.  _ It can’t be. _

She tilted her head as she stared at her mother, but it wasn’t her she was seeing. It was the idea. The  _ impossible _ idea.  _ I barely know her! It doesn’t make sense! When did I turn into a teenager? And yet…  _

_...Love? _

  
  


*****

That evening, Seven was glad to finish a hearty meal for dinner and get back to her room. Stiffly wishing the others good night, she was relieved to find solace in her room.  _ Well, Kathryn’s room, _ she reminded herself. A room their leader probably wanted back by now. 

Seven sat on the end of the bed and unzipped one boot at a time. Pulling off the heavy brown boots granted her another sense of relief and she placed them together in a tidy spot beside her duffle bag on the floor. She fell back onto her back with a sigh and stared at the slanted, cottage cheese ceiling. 

Flat, glow in the dark stars scattered the entire surface, though the ‘glow’ had long faded. Even with direct light during the day, all Seven ever saw from them was a faint, bluish hue.  _ Kathryn’s childhood. This was her room. This was something that little girl wanted one day many years ago, to feel like she was part of the stars.  _

_ Even now, they provide a form of comfort _ , Seven realized,  _ for me _ . 

She wondered if she’d heard a soft rap on the door or if it were a sound from the house settling for the evening. The second knock was louder and she rose to a sitting position. 

“Come in.” 

“Sorry to bother you.” 

Seven smiled, “This is your room, Kathryn. I am the one who is a bother.” 

Katie slipped into her room and closed the door behind her. She eyed the area briefly for her backpack but didn’t see it by the window seat, on the floor near her closet or beside the dresser. But her plan to scoop up her backpack and flee the room as quickly as possible seemed less possible since Seven had implied she was a bother. 

Kathryn lingered beside her dresser, glancing at the picture frames on top of the dark wood set, taking a soft breath. She touched the picture of nine year old Katie and her father on a fishing trip. One of many, but a special one as evidenced by her toothy grin and the proud, endearing thumbs up from her father as she held up a trout nearly as big as her. A little triangle shaped pin she’d won at a carnival stood propped against another picture frame. She slid her finger along the pin, smiling at the vague but warm memory.

She turned around and eyed Seven sitting at the end of her bed. The lanky blonde woman looked even more awkward than she normally did, scratching her knee and then kneading her hands in her lap.  _ Way to go, Katie. Now she really thinks she’s a bother. _

Katie decisively crossed the room and sat beside Seven on her bed. The moment she felt her own mattress underneath her she sighed in relief. Though, she wondered after a few moments if it wasn’t the bed that made her sigh, but the warm body just beside her.

“You are not a bother, Seven. Not at all.” Her voice was low. 

Seven remained stiff beside Kathryn, her hands still digging into each other somewhat absentmindedly. “I am in your space, and staying with Phoebe Janeway is not a sustainable solution for you.” 

Kathryn snorted and glanced at her before looking back across the room at the narrow mirror attached to her closet’s sliding door. She watched the way the blonde nearly squirmed with nervousness beside her. It made Katie feel even more secure, stronger, and she simultaneously sat up straighter as she relaxed. Seven seemed to need that strength, and she gave it willingly. 

“You’re not wrong about that second part,” Kathryn chuckled. “I love my sister,” she lowered her voice, “but we’re very different people.” 

“Indeed,” Seven interjected. “Perhaps I would be able to construct a structure within the barn.” 

Katie started. She shifted from watching Seven in the mirror to the one that sat beside her. “You’re  _ not _ staying in the barn.” 

“There is no space here. The rooms are all taken and Tank and Chuck each have their own trailers.” 

“But the barn…” Katie shook her head. “Is that what you want?”

Seven stared at her own hands in her lap. “There is no other solution, and I do not wish to be a burden.” 

Katie nodded to herself. She considered offering her the couch, or taking the couch up herself, but who would want to sleep in the living room with no space of their own? Then, she remembered.

“You know,” Katie turned to her with a smirk, “There’s a couch in Tom and B’Elanna’s room. They’re room was mom’s study before. House guests usually stayed there.”

“I do not believe I would enjoy boarding with Tom and B’Elanna.” 

Katie laughed. Crossing her left arm across her body, her hand easily came to rest on Seven’s bare forearm. “Who would? I wouldn’t do that to you.” The sun-kissed skin under her hand was silky smooth and she explored the surface with her thumb, caressing it in soft circles. Lost for long languid moments, Katie eventually noticed she was lost in stroking Seven and stilled her motion abruptly. She took her hand back and purposefully placed both palms firmly against the edge of the bed, squeezing the mattress, and addressed Seven strictly through the mirror once more. 

“The couch in the study is a pull-out,” she said hoarsely. 

“Pull-out?” 

Blanching at the term, Katie corrected her. “It unfolds into a bed.” 

“Oh, I see.”

“We’ll obviously need to find a place for you to stay more permanently, but until then, we could move the couch in here.” Her eyes widened as she listened to what came from her own mouth. “I have the most space anyway.” She gestured to the large area between the window seat and the closet, punctuated only by her backpack— _ there it is! Right in front of your face, Katie.  _

Growing more and more horrified by her words, she rambled on. “If you’re comfortable. I mean, I’m comfortable. And I—well, I trust you.” She took a breath and smiled at Seven through the window. “We already spent one night sleeping together—in the same room. I mean, of course. Obviously… But if you’re not comfortable...” 

The blonde remained stoic, not having uttered a single word thus far. Katie couldn’t bear the silence and pushed on, “...But, if it's agreeable to you... And then we can find a better solution then the barn. It gets quite cold in winter—I don’t want to have to come chisel you out of a block of ice.” 

Looking up at the blue-gray eyes in the mirror, Seven gave her a small, appreciative smile. Katie felt herself breathe once more, but her stomach fluttered and her fingers tingled. 

“So, you would not…” Seven cleared her throat. “It would not make  _ you  _ uncomfortable?” 

“What do you mean?” Katie questioned. 

“I do not wish to… make you feel as though you must…” Seven straightened her shoulders and tried again. “I simply do not wish to make you uncomfortable, Kathryn.” 

Katie froze for only a moment as she realized what the blonde was referring to, before forcing herself to assume a relaxed and calm demeanor, even while her body continued to betray her. Her hope that they’d just never talk about what had happened was dashed. 

An unexpected thought streamed through her mind—no matter how familiar Seven felt to her, she was still a stranger. Someone she barely knew, even after the last month. Perhaps a young, attractive woman such as Seven was accustomed to having these sorts of trysts. 

She tried to keep her voice light, but the weight of her curiosity came through, as did her amusement at the situation, though forced. “Do you make it a habit of kissing strangers?” She purred as she turned her head and placed her chin in her hands. 

The blonde slowly turned toward her. “No, Kathryn. I do not.” She gazed at the high cheekbones, the tiny wrinkles around Kathryn’s eyes, the refined, elegant structure of her features, and her auburn hair with copper highlights. She knew she couldn’t say it out loud, but she could think it all she wanted. 

_ I feel as though I have loved you in another life.  _


	8. Chapter 8

Seven and Tank walked side by side along the north end of the perimeter fence. She kept an eye on the tree where she’d stumbled moments before being shot, right below the apex of the hill. Instinctively, she rubbed her shoulder, more unsettled by her fast healing time than she had let on. And that was only the start of her worries.

No memory. Whatsoever. Not before her time with Mr. Janeway. As if she was born in the bunker as an adult. No past, no family. Nothing. 

In her mind, she turned over what Kathryn had mentioned—it’d been five years since the outbreak. Yet, she could only remember the last 6 months. Her and Mr. Janeway. They had survived fairly comfortably in the bunker left behind by the CDC, too. She would’ve been perfectly content staying there for as long as she was able. It was only Edward Janeway’s death that had forced her out. More than just his death, his dying wish, to protect his family, which she was certain could not be alive despite his stories of them. His fierce and brilliant wife, his kind and caring daughter and his pride and joy, Katie. 

A hand jutted out in front of Seven and she stopped just short. Tank held up a finger as they stood perfectly still. They listened around them, though Seven noted Tank turned to her. 

He mouthed the words, “Hear something?” 

She tried to block out her own thoughts as best as she could. She eventually shook her head in response. “What did you hear?” She whispered. 

He shrugged. “I’m not certain.” 

“Perhaps we should go out?” She nodded with her chin to the area past the fence. 

“No. Katie does not like anyone going outside the fence unless it has been discussed first. Not if we can help it.” 

Seven’s cheeks faintly shone red as she ducked her head down and they continued their walk around the perimeter. Edward Janeway had spoken so highly of Kathryn, her tenacious spirit, her determined nature, her accomplishments and her brilliant mind. He hadn’t mentioned how beautiful she was—he’d left that for Seven to find on her own. She smiled to herself as she recalled the way Kathryn had kissed her back, that evening in the boutique. 

The distant bird calls brought her back. Though the wind carried a chill to it, she was glad to be walking alongside Tank. He was by far the most logical, practical and level-headed person in the group, and she found his presence reassuring. 

A view around the entire farm gave her a sense of security, too. She knew where Kathryn was for the most part, along with the other Janeway’s in her care. But it was Kathryn she kept an eye on the most, and the woman never seemed to take much of a break. The four or so hours Seven spent on shift with Tank provided her with a growing list of chores and activities Kathryn attended around the farm, from checking the garden to chopping wood, repairing any fencing or structures to picking fruit from the small, green apple tree behind the house.

The way the group worked together, despite some tension here and there, was impressive. She found the group to be a well-oiled machine amidst a decimated world, or as well-oiled as any machine was any more. 

“How long have you been here, Tank?” 

Tank quirked an eyebrow. “Since the very start, five years.” 

“Did you already know the Janeways?” 

“Katie,” he responded shortly. 

“I see. You and she, were you—“ 

“No. Katie and I have known each other since boot camp.” 

“Boot camp?” She asked, startled. “She was in the military?” 

“Not exactly. Both her and I were in boot camp together. We struck a fast friendship, but she did not finish.” 

“Why? I’ve seen her around here. She’s perfectly capable.” _And perhaps, somewhat, perfect in her imperfections?_

“Katie has always been a scientist first. She decided to pursue her chosen career instead of the one her father wished for her.”

Seven frowned. “I thought they had a strong relationship.” 

“They do—did. It took many years before Ed came around. He was extremely proud of her accomplishments in her field.” 

Seven smiled, “I know. He always spoke so highly of her,” she whispered. 

They stopped at the east end of the property to take a short break, as they had every day since she’d joined him in the security rounds. Drinking down some of the hot tea in the thermoses left on the picnic table, Seven looked affectionately toward the house, in particular to Mrs. Janeway, who had been adamant about everyone staying warm as the weather shifted.

“What about your family?” Seven asked after a few minutes. 

Tank gulped down a few sips before spinning the cap back on the thermos. “I was married. We had four children,” he responded in a pinched voice.

“Four,” Seven whispered, realizing how insensitive her question had been. Of course he had a family. Of course he had lost them. “I’m very sorry.” Instead of making him try to save face, she turned away gently and looked toward the house to give him a few moments to collect himself—even a pinched voice meant a lot, Seven figured, considering how little he emoted otherwise.

Chuck was a few yards in front of the house beside a pile of chopped firewood. Chopping wood by hand was laborious, and Seven idly wondered if she could take the bear man in the physical activity. She couldn’t say what it was about her that enhanced her strength and endurance, nor what the metal implants on her body were, but she figured they had to be related. An unfair advantage, but still, a fun idea. To show him up in front of Kathryn was a bit much and she chided herself, though only briefly as Kathryn came out of the house. The auburn-haired woman leaned over a wooden banister to speak to Chuck before she scribbled a note in a little book.

Kathryn looked about the field and finally spotted Seven and Tank at the picnic table across the way. Seven tried not to stare at the compact body fit snugly into tactical pants and a black shirt. She only looked her up and down once before meeting her eyes and getting a near-smile and a head nod. Kathryn made another note in her book before slipping back into the house.

“What was that book?” Seven asked.

Tank’s voice was bereft of any emotion, a testament that he had regained his composure, which was oddly comforting to Seven.

“It is a log. Katie keeps them to assess our supplies and document anything of significance.” 

“Like what?” Seven turned her chin into her shoulder to look at Tank behind her. 

“For instance, your arrival.” 

*****

"Katie, you're on couch duty. And so are you, Seven." Gretchen eyed both women as if they were 12, standing in front of her like naughty children.

"Awe, mom--"

"No," she replied sternly. "You know the rule." She turned to Seven who looked more confused than annoyed. "Katie will show you what to do. Now off you go."

Gretchen disappeared beyond the kitchen door and Seven remained frowning in her wake. 

"She's a real Mary Poppins," Katie rolled her eyes. "Come on." 

They manuevered the living room couch onto its side and began the most awkward part of the entire process. 

"Okay, we have to angle it just right to get it through the doorway. So you want the back or the front?"

The confused frown on Seven's face made Katie chuckle. I'll take the outside, you take the back."

"Why are we attempting this exercise?"

"I'm to blame for that. The day mom and dad brought in a new couch, I sort of…"

Seven waited with an eyebrow quirked. 

"Well, it looked so plush! I had to jump a couple times! It just happened that I'd been rolling around in the dirt all day." 

"Why were you ‘rolling around in the dirt all day’?"

Katie shrugged with a wry grin. "I liked biology. I'd catch frogs or dig around plants to see what the roots looked like… to be fair, I did get my PhD in the field of biology," she raised her voice and spoke toward the kitchen. Upon no response, she shrugged. "Ever since, this has been the standard punishment for breaking the rules.” 

“Which rule did I break?” 

WIncing, Kathryn continued, “Well, again, I’m more to blame for that. There’s a rule that I’m not supposed to stay elsewhere without telling mom first. Mind you, this came about when all of this happened,” she gestured around them, to the world. “Since you were with me… you’re in trouble, too.” 

Seven enjoyed the brief squeeze on her arm before Kathryn slipped out the front door and began situating the couch once more for its journey over the threshold.

She followed Kathryn’s directions with precision, even when the direction wasn’t very clear. Somehow, with a bit of jiggling and a few curse words, they got past one corner and the couch clicked into place. Seven couldn’t see Kathryn on the other side of the threshold because her face was smashed against the side of the couch, but she listened carefully. 

“Okay, here’s the tough part! Watch your fingers!” Katie gave the arm of the couch a well-practiced knock and the sofa completely dislodged itself. Seven nearly rammed both the item and Katie down the stairs before catching the couch and herself. 

Coming around to stand beside Seven, Katie dusted off her hands. “There. The first part is done.” 

Seven didn’t like the sound of it but accepted it in the same beat. “What now?” She looked down at Kathryn to her side as Kathryn met her eyes. 

Katie placed her hands on her hips and shined a lopsided smile to the blonde. She nodded toward a tarp held down with four small cuts of wood on the opposite side of the wood pile. “We’ll take it down the stairs, dust it, wipe it down, and then get it back through the doorway.” 

“Simple,” Seven retorted, not without a bit of sarcasm.

A grin shone on Katie’s face. 

*****

Gretchen, B’Elanna and Phoebe stood in the kitchen drinking tea and preparing dinner. It wouldn’t be an exorbitant meal, but Gretchen felt it would satisfy their team. Creamed corn, broiled chicken, and chocolate and vanilla pudding for dessert. As far as the apocalypse went, she hoped her contribution of cooking decent meals was satisfactory enough, as well as being everyone’s mother, in one way or another. Phoebe needed her still, and B’Elanna had become like a niece to her. But Katie, she was the toughest of the crew, and yet, the saddest. She distanced herself more and more as time went on, as they lost more people. She and Katie had the occasional serious talk, but she only ever got so far with her most stubborn daughter. 

Scooping chocolate out of pudding cups and mixing the contents in a large glass bowl, Gretchen worried. Swirling the vanilla and chocolate in the bowl, she wondered, yet again, how she could get to Katie, her baby. 

An echo of a bark of laughter stilled her spoon and her thoughts. She froze, wondering suddenly if what she’d heard was actually a laugh or if it were a yelp or a scream, or maybe someone—there it was again. A true to God, full bellied laugh. One she hadn’t heard in years. 


	9. Chapter 9

B’Elanna peeked through the kitchen window at Katie and Seven in the yard. She didn’t turn back to the other two ladies in the room, speaking mischievously into the window pane. “Please tell me I’m not the only one seeing this.” 

“I know!” Phoebe nearly jumped as she came over to the window sill on the other side of the narrow breakfast table. She watched as her older sister showed the blonde woman how to properly beat a cushion, to Seven’s wide-eyed shock. Katie laughed loud enough to carry into the kitchen. “I told mom,” Phoebe waggled her eyebrows at B’Elanna, “I knew it!” 

Gretchen turned from the sink, about to address the younger women, when another boisterous laugh from outside stopped her. She slid beside Phoebe, looking over her head and barely poking out from the cover of the wall. The sheer joy of Katie’s large smile and wondrous laughter instantly brought tears to her eyes.

“Mrs. Janeway?” B’Elanna asked quietly from the other side of the table.

Phoebe turned around and found the tears sliding down her mother’s cheeks. “Mom? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” 

Gretchen pulled her attention away from Katie and Seven and turned to the two women watching her with concern. A large, brilliant, warm smile met them and they returned their own. Gretchen wiped her cheeks quickly. 

She pointed a finger toward Phoebe, “don’t tease your sister. You know how Katie is, if she feels like anyone’s trying to push, she’ll shut down. No one mentions this,” she gestured to the scene outside the window, eyebrows raised and her voice stern. 

B’Elanna nodded, turning to poke her head out and continue watching Katie and their newest crew member. 

Gretchen pointedly looked to her daughter. 

“I promise,” Phoebe surrendered. “...So, it doesn’t bother you?” She asked quietly. “I mean, you know…” 

Gretchen smiled at her youngest child, placing her hand on her cheek softly. “I just want my girls to be happy.” She relinquished her hand and pulled Phoebe in for a kiss on the top of her head. 

“Thanks, mom,” Phoebe whispered and went back to her perch by the window to spy on her older sister. 

Before Gretchen went back to the sink, she dipped over to B’Elanna and kissed her on the head, too. “All my girls.” 

Returning to the pudding, Gretchen wiped another few tears as Katie’s voice carried into the room. 

After a few minutes, B’Elanna carefully broke the quiet with an earnest question. “Do you think she knows?” 

“What do you mean?” Phoebe asked. 

“Katie. Do you think she knows she’s falling in love?” 

_“—she’s falling in love?”_ Chuck caught the last bit of a comment as he came into the kitchen via the back door. He placed a basket of fresh foods onto the counter for Gretchen, all from the garden. 

“Who’s falling in love?” He asked, irritated that every time he came across B’Elanna and Phoebe they always seemed to be sitting around doing nothing to contribute. 

“We’re just gossiping,” B’Elanna answered with a laugh, doing very well to cover her annoyance at his arrival.

Phoebe followed suit, moving away from the window and coming around to see what Chuck had brought in. 

He shrugged and left the room to go to his RV for a break before dinner. B’Elanna and Phoebe shared a look, both fairly certain they were thinking the same thing. 

*****

Kathryn and Seven sat on the couch outside, taking a break. Seven had insisted that she didn’t need one, but when Kathryn sat and patted the seat beside her, she couldn’t refuse. 

“I thought one was to ‘beat a rug,’ not a couch,” Seven offered, glancing up at her with a twinkle. Kathryn’s cheeks were still a rosy color from the laborious work, though probably also because of her fit of laughter. 

“Don’t start,” Katie smiled as she looked into Seven’s eyes. She let out a breath and rested her head back, looking up into the darkening sky. _Forty-five minutes,_ she estimated, until the sun would be completely down. 

“I love days like these.” 

Seven mimicked her, leaning her head back and looking up, then rolling her head to the side to view Kathryn. 

“I didn’t see a single walker—knock on wood,” she added hastily. 

Seven knocked firmly on the little trim of wood across the arm of the couch behind her. “Completed.” She gazed at the upturned corners of Kathryn’s lips. 

“No walkers, nice weather, fine company.” She rolled her head to the side against the back of the couch, mirroring Seven. “Thank you.” 

“There is nothing to thank me for.” 

Katie reached out and placed her hand on Seven’s knee briefly before sitting up once more. “We better get this sucker back in the house. We’re losing light.” 

Seven straightened and nodded once, lifting lithely off the couch. She hoped her disappointment didn’t show. “I believe I also enjoyed today. It is unfortunate that it must end.” 

She looked up at Kathryn on the opposite side of the couch, getting ready to put her hands in position to lift. Instead, the auburn haired woman placed her hands on the arm rest and looked across the expanse of the couch at Seven. 

After a long moment, a familiar, mischievous smile met her. 

“It’s not over yet,” Kathryn husked. 

*****

The couch in its proper place once more, Seven eyed it from the dining table occasionally. Though, it wasn’t really the couch that she admired. It was quite ugly actually, and she bit back a smile as she glanced across the table to find Kathryn looking at her with an amused, questioning expression. 

Seven replied in silence, raising and lowering her eyebrows once. Kathryn responded with a slight shake of her head and a lopsided, closed-lipped smile. 

“More corn?” Phoebe asked somewhat loudly. 

Seven turned to her left, eyeing the youngest Janeway and the large clear bowl. “No thank you, Phoebe.” 

Phoebe placed it back on the table and then quickly continued, hoping to catch Seven before she began her next silent conversation with her sister. She lowered her voice, glad to finally have the chance to bring something up while the others chatted. “So, I saw that you brought back coffee. What did she think?” 

Seven quashed the urge to glance Kathryn’s way. She examined Phoebe’s open, curious expression, deciding finally that she was simply just that, curious. “I believe everyone who drinks the substance appreciates it greatly.” Upon Phoebe’s continued stare, she went on, “And Kathryn thanked me.” 

“How?” 

Seven turned to her left to find B’Elanna leaning in and listening to their conversation. Flanked by the women, Seven glanced between them a moment and then continued, “By saying ‘thank you.’” 

“Oh,” B’Elanna sighed, obviously a bit disappointed. 

“Did you expect a different response?” Seven asked, lowering her voice further. 

“No,” Phoebe was quick to answer. “I mean, there’s a lot of ways of showing someone that you’re thankful. I’m sure that’s all B’Elanna meant, right?” 

“Yes, that’s what I meant,” B’Elanna nodded. 

A slight frown registered on Seven’s brow. Even for these two, this conversation was odd. She stared at the bit of corn left over on her plate for a long while. _It wasn’t the coffee at all,_ she noted. _I kissed Kathryn before she even saw her precious elixir. And she kissed me, too, before she knew what the gift was. But she did hug me after I presented the surprise._

She turned to Phoebe quickly, making sure to lower her voice once more, the conversation around them continuing less boisterously than it had before. “She hugged me.” 

Phoebe’s eyes sparkled as she turned to Seven with a wide grin. She whacked the blonde woman’s arm and Seven responded with a demure smile. She felt her cheeks lightly flush as Phoebe looked at her seemingly knowingly. She wasn’t sure the young Janeway knew everything, but she suspected Phoebe had at the very least observed Seven’s behavior and made a connection. 

“The thing about Ka—“ 

“Okay!” Gretchen rose from the table beside Phoebe, gathering everyone’s attention. “Who’s ready for dessert?” 

“Sounds wonderful, Gretchen,” Owen smiled kindly. “Let me help with the dishes—“ he went to get up but she shooed him back down. 

“You can help me put them away later,” Gretchen returned the warm smile. “Phoebe,” she said to her daughter, “let’s clear the table.” 

Having been caught red handed, Phoebe nodded and excused herself from her conversation with Seven. Before she could so much as look at B’Elanna to motion her to continue the questioning of Seven, Gretchen called for her help as well. _Sly, mom, sly._

  
  


Nine empty bowls littered the dining table, not a lick of pudding left anywhere in sight. Tom double checked, just to be sure, and settled with a warm bottle of beer. Gretchen wouldn’t allow them to keep it in the house, but Chuck and Harry both kept some in their rooms outside the home, occasionally treating those who wanted one to a warm beer. Harry smiled to himself, with the cooler weather, they’d get to occasionally have a cold beer on an unusually warm day. Those were his favorite days. Especially when Phoebe would occasionally join him in a game of cards or a walk around the property if it’d been a quiet day. 

Gazing around the table, Harry once more silently thanked whatever deity was in the neighborhood for the family he gained. He, like almost everyone else, lost his whole family, but here, he had been given another. 

He blushed when Tom knocked him fairly gently. Tom leaned toward his dark haired friend. “You gonna ask her?” 

Harry fidgeted uncomfortably, nearly wiggling in his seat at even the idea. 

“Come on man, you gotta ask. Better to know that not to.” 

Harry let out a breath, mostly annoyed at himself for letting the fear of rejection win out. The world was pretty much over and he still struggled socially. Nothing could help him but him, he figured. He tossed back the last three gulps of his beer, quietly belching as he set it down on the table. He opened his mouth but quickly snapped it shut as another interrupted. 

“Oh, you know, Katie,” Gretchen said across the table above the din, “if you’re going to the ready room tonight, be sure to take some batteries with you. That walkie needs new ones by now, I’m sure.” 

“Good idea,” Katie nodded, then glanced at the other end of the table at Seven. 

Gretchen rose from her seat carrying a couple empty bowls, “and take some blankets, at least one of the heavy ones. It was about this time last year when we had that early snowfall.” 

“Yes, mother,” Katie smirked and Gretchen shook her head as she disappeared into the kitchen. 

Gretchen nearly ran directly into her youngest daughter who had begun washing dishes. “No interfering, hm?” Her hands dripped water onto the floor as she blocked her.

“Your mother does not interfere, thank you.” She sidestepped her and dropped off the bowls on the counter by the sink. 

Phoebe smiled toward the kitchen door. If Katie couldn’t think of asking Seven to help with that bulky old blanket mom insisted Katie take to the ready room every year… well, then she knew for sure her sister wasn’t as smart as she seemed.

*****

An hour later, Katie knocked on her bedroom door and came into the room after a few moments. The couch was extended in front of the closet, where Seven lay on top of the worn crochet blanket. A book propped on a pillow in her lap, she barely glanced at Katie as she let herself in. 

"Hi," Katie said, then kicking herself for sounding like an idiot. 

Seven nodded once in acknowledgement before returning to her book, turning a crinkling page. 

Katie grabbed her empty backpack and began collecting a few various items around the room. The batteries her mother left for her, a notebook, a sweater. She tapped her finger on her chin as she glanced around the room in search of whatever else she was surely forgetting. 

Spying briefly at the long legs, she found herself caught in a trap. She swept her eyes upward along the extended limbs, over the pillow, landing on Seven's hands, one mesh covered and one without the grey metal. She slid up the vision of long arms covered with a navy blue long sleeve shirt--one she assumed Seven picked up at Wyldman's. She outlined the expanse of Seven's chest as it moved softly with her every breath. 

From the V-cut collar, a long, regal neck led her to a cute, dimpled chin and up to plump, pink lips. Katie grazed over dark brown eyelashes before returning to Seven’s lips. The ends were slightly turned down, a hint of a grimace behind her otherwise schooled expression. 

Katie couldn't help but smile as she stared. The look of consternation was charming in its youthful authenticity, and she tittered, trying to keep it to herself. Seven glanced up at her with an unimpressed raise of her eyebrows. 

"I'm sorry," Katie held her laugh in her chest. 

"Do I amuse you?" Seven replied with a haughty air. 

"No, no," a large smile erupted on Katie's face, "maybe a little."

Seven quirked her left brow covered with metal. 

“What are you reading?”

Seven turned the book over to examine the cover once more. “It is called _The Cowboy’s Vow._ ” 

Katie blushed profusely and turned to rifle through her backpack on the bed. Anything to cover up her embarrassment. She schooled her voice carefully, responding without looking up at the blonde. “Oh, I see.” 

“I borrowed it from your bookshelf.” 

“Mhm.” 

“I should’ve asked first.” 

Katie waved her hand, but still couldn’t quite pull herself away from digging around in her pack for an elusive item she’d never find.

“Do you enjoy this form of literature?” Seven inquired with a frown as she held up the book.

Katie didn’t need a reminder. She remembered the ridiculous cover well enough. A modern cowboy with an unbuttoned shirt and a sleek muscled chest. Old hat images superimposed in the background--cacti, a rattlesnake, a ranch house. Decidedly, no woman on the cover, a rule of thumb most of these kinds of books adhered to. Something about allowing women to imagine themselves on the covers, draped over the sleek male bodies, Katie rolled her eyes. 

“Not particularly,” she responded, her blush fully dissolved. She zipped up the pack and double checked all the other pockets were properly secured. 

“But you have many of these titles.” 

Katie took a silent breath, more annoyed than embarrassed. “Those are from a long time ago. I don’t read them.” 

Seven seemed to gnaw at the idea, frowning, her wheels turning behind ice blue eyes. Katie lifted an eyebrow as she waited for, no doubt, another follow up question. 

“But you do not have any other books.” 

Katie chuckled. “I do, Seven. They’re in my ready room. I’m sure there’s something more to your taste there.” She wondered at her own response. Why did it sound like there was more there than met the eye?

“I see. Perhaps I could borrow a book that is ‘more to my taste,’ then?” 

Katie shrugged off her own thoughts. “Sure. I’m going over there in a few minutes. You’re welcome to join me.” She turned around to look in an empty drawer as her eyes bulged wide. _What the hell are you doing?!_

“Oh,” Seven responded in a light voice, “Phoebe informed me that you do not allow guests in your ‘ready room.’” 

Putting her eyes back in their sockets, she turned around. Finding Seven’s curious, open expression made her weaken in the knees—her entire being softening. “Phoebe most assuredly did not put it that way,” Katie shined a lopsided smile. “And I never told any of them they couldn’t visit. They just assumed.” 

“I see.” 

Putting a hand to the back of her neck, Katie thought aloud to herself, “Of course, I haven’t invited any of them.” It was a comment meant solely for herself. She only remembered Seven’s capability for hearing after the fact. Before she could back-pedal, Seven spoke. 

“I accept,” she commented in a strained voice. 

Katie nodded, being careful to hide her trepidation. 

Seven watched as Katie neared her, seemingly trying to find a way to access the closet around the unfolded couch. There was no route and Seven set aside the romance novel. 

“How may I assist?” She opened the closet door and stepped down onto the floor inside. She waited, leaning against the wall at the end of the closet, while Kathryn’s gaze bore into her. The intensity of Kathryn’s focus caused her to stop breathing regularly, but she remained stoic nonetheless. 

A moment later, the trance was broken and Katie was pointing to the top rack in the closet. “The grey wool blanket.” 

The material was sealed in an oversized plastic bag with a sturdy handle. Seven stepped on the edge of the bed to gain the extra height she needed. She leaned into the closet, ducking under the door frame and propping herself up with one hand clasped on the stable wooden shelf. She grabbed the handles of the bag and carefully lifted it down as she slid back to the ground. 

She set the hefty bundle on the couch-bed and looked up to find blue-grey eyes watching her wistfully. Her lips curled into a bashful smile. “Here you go.” 

Katie cleared her throat. “Thanks,” she said, still finding her voice far too pinched. “It’ll be chilly. You should probably bring a coat.” 

“I do not have one.” 

A knock on the bedroom door snapped Katie out of her residual daze. “Come in.” 

Gretchen appeared with a smile. “Sorry to bother you, honey.”

“That’s okay, mom.” 

The older woman slipped past Katie and smiled at Seven. “You,” she pointed at the blonde in a teasing manner. “I demand another round of Scrabble.” 

Seven lifted an eyebrow. “You wish to lose again?” She smiled as Kathryn’s mouth hung open in shock. Gretchen on the other hand, to Seven’s absolute joy, laughed. 

“What are we going to do with this one?” Gretchen elbowed her daughter with a winning grin. 

Katie’s breath was sucked from her lungs as she saw the light in her mother’s eyes. How long had it been since her mother had laughed like this? She frowned to herself while her mother and Seven continued to speak with one another. Katie tilted her head as she examined Seven. _It’s her. What is it about her? Who are you? How have you won over all of us Janeways? Why do I feel like I…_

“...I must decline for this evening,” Seven smiled kindly at Gretchen. “Kathryn has invited me to join her in her ready room.” 

The instant still silence in the room was deafening. Seven wondered if she had said something inappropriate as both Janeways stared at her, most definitely avoiding looking at each other. Just as she was going to blurt out whatever came to mind, Gretchen released the tension in the room. 

Gretchen's large smile met her and then turned to Kathryn. She wrapped an arm around her daughter in a half-hug. “Great,” she said simply. “Enjoy.” 

Katie watched her mother leave the room. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest and she suddenly had the inclination to run to her mother like she was six years old again. Instead, she took a labored breath.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: the rating went up for this story from Teen to Mature (I have no control of these characters, they just do whatever they want). Cheers to conduits!

Chuck entered the house quietly, though curfew wasn’t for another few hours at ten. But with the walkers just outside the walls at any given time, it felt like it was always curfew. He waited just inside the house as the door closed against his back. He let it latch before striding into the living room. Gretchen and Owen were sitting on the newly cleaned paisley couch, sipping at tea. If he hadn’t known better, he would’ve assumed them to be husband and wife. 

“Good evening, Chuck,” Gretchen smiled as she set her book down in her lap. “How are you doing?” 

“Fine, Mrs. Janeway.” He nodded at Owen who looked up from his own publication. “Katie in her room?” He asked as he started toward the hallway. 

“No, actually,” Gretchen lifted her chin to catch him. 

He turned back and took up the spot he’d just left. “‘No’? Oh!” He remembered. “She went to her ready room. It’s a nice evening for a walk. I’ll go see if she feels like one.” 

“Actually—“ Gretchen held up a finger with a gentle smile. “I think we should leave her be at the moment.” 

“Did something happen?” He looked around the room for any sign of trouble.  _ Where’s the stranger?  _

“Nothing like that,” Gretchen spoke softly, sharing a look with Owen. 

Chuck waited with a scowl for an explanation. Gretchen nodded at Owen and the older man took over. “Katie’s taken Seven with her.” A proud, fatherly smile erupted on his lips. 

A deeper scowl registered on Chuck and his chest puffed up in anger that was il-concealed. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?” He asked Gretchen specifically. 

“Pardon?” 

“Katie inviting Seven to her ready room. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?” 

“Why?” Owen asked. 

He scoffed in response. “We barely know her. We don’t know anything about her other than what she claims to have told us. And—and, her inhumanness. She has metal in her  _ face _ , on her hand and I’m sure other places—“ 

“Gives new meaning to metal head,” Phoebe mentioned under her breath as she passed from the hallway, through the living room and into the kitchen. 

Chuck didn’t seem to notice or care. “—and her hearing and strength? It’s unnatural.  _ She’s  _ unnatural.” 

“You make her sound like a superhero,” Gretchen turned to Owen with some amusement. 

He smiled back before turning to Chuck, who was growing red in the face. “What do you think she’ll do?” 

“Who knows! She could be a psycho for all we know.” 

“I do miss movies,” Phoebe muttered as she carried out a plate of crackers and set it on the coffee table in the middle of the conversation. 

“Other than her physical  _ being _ , has she done anything suspicious? Have you seen her do or say anything that would make you think she has ulterior motives?” Owen put a hand to his chin, ready to consider whatever Chuck may offer.

A long silence fell over the room before Chuck clenched his jaw. “No. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t going to try something.” 

“You’re just jealous.” 

Phoebe’s words sliced the room, a clean rip through everyone’s thoughts. 

“Excuse me?” Chuck tilted his head, examining Phoebe from an angle. 

“We all know you love her,” Phoebe answered, dusting off the crackers from her hands and rising from her seat. 

“We all love her,” Chuck responded quieter. 

Phoebe rolled her eyes, “you know what I mean. Don’t you think it’s time to move on?” 

“Move on where?!” Chuck exploded. “Where would I go?!”

“I’m not saying leave, idiot! I’m just saying, you need to let go of whatever it is you wanted with Katie. Even  _ if  _ my sister isn’t a carpet muncher, she doesn’t love  _ you _ ! Somebody has to tell you, and I guess it’s me! Thems the breaks!” 

“Carpet—?” Gretchen asked Owen quietly. He shrugged.

  
  
  


******

  
  


Seven followed Kathryn up the wobbly rope stairs. She glanced below her, wondering how safe it was, but continued moving upward after the redhead. A hand appeared in front of her face and she looked up into the blue-gray eyes nearly sparkling in the midnight blue sky. 

She clasped Kathryn’s hand and allowed herself to be assisted up the last few steps, unnecessary as it was. Slipping in through the small, somewhat crooked door, she stepped into darker blackness. Kathryn reached around her and closed the door, then slipped her hand over her arm as she passed around. 

“One moment,” the thick voice whispered.

With a click, Kathryn carried a rather small lantern that nonetheless lit the space. Seven was surprised by the size of the room. From below, the ‘tree house’ looked like it could hold two young children. Seven nodded as she evaluated the 10x10 foot space. 

“This is impressive,” she said. 

Kathryn smiled widely before turning to a little table attached to the side of the east wall. She turned on a small hot plate, peeking inside a battered teapot before setting it on the plate. 

“Electricity?” Seven inquired, feet planted near the door. 

“B’Elanna and Harry. They rigged a lot of our appliances with solar power. Et viola! Hot water.” 

Impressed once more, Seven examined the room from her spot at the entrance. All along the north wall, shelves of books were lined up and stacked, poking out of their cubbies, and none with even the finest hint of dust. One shelf to the right held a series of ten composition books, all neatly organized together with dates clearly labeled on the spines.

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” Kathryn smiled over her shoulder. “Tea?” 

Seven met her eyes across the cozy room, but she couldn’t move nor speak. She lost herself in the deep, glittering eyes, Kathryn’s copper hair and the scent of books and tea and a faint musk. 

Kathryn stared back for long moments before approaching her with a wooden bread box stuffed with tea packets. She eyed the redhead from under her eyelashes as Kathryn stood before her. 

“There’s um,” Kathryn’s voice was thick once more, “various teas.” 

“Any is fine,” Seven muttered. She passed her hand through the box, not paying attention. Her fingers slipped against Kathryn’s sending a tingling rush through her implants and up her arm. “Whatever you’re having, Kathryn.” 

She nodded slightly, eyes roaming across her features before she covered the space back to the kettle. Seven wandered over to the bookshelf, drawn to the composition books. She pressed a finger to the top of one spine and angled the book out to examine its cover. The cover was speckled in blue hues, but no label existed except the one on the spine. 

“What are these?” She asked, not sure if it had been polite to ask or not. A nervous wave washed over her. 

“Hm? Oh.” Kathryn turned around and smiled. 

“Log books. I keep them. You never know.” 

“What do you log?” She glanced behind her to find a little coffee table aligned against the opposite wall, and between the two places, a large cushioned mat littered with pillows. 

“Everything,” Kathryn half-smiled. “Supplies, dates, significant events. Thoughts… You’re welcome to look through them, though I doubt you’ll find them very interesting.” 

“Thank you,” Seven commented. She waited until Kathryn turned away before grabbing the newest log book. She was disappointed to find that the newest one wasn’t actually the most up to date one.  _ Makes logical sense. She would keep the current log book on her person.  _ She wanted to know what Kathryn had written about her most of all.

A quiet whistle started and Kathryn quickly turned off the hot plate and poured the steaming water into the two cups. She walked across the room and handed Seven her cup. 

Kathryn sipped her drink. “As you can see, there’s not a lot of space here. And it’s a bit messier than I’d like it to be.” 

“No,” Seven interjected rather sternly. She examined the faint freckles dusting Kathryn’s cheeks and the refined, chiseled cheek bones, before glancing around the room. It was not as clean nor tidy as her room at the house, but this felt lived-in. Felt more like a home, at least so it seemed. “It is you.” 

“I’m sorry?” Kathryn set her cup of tea on the coffee table and walked around the cushiony mat. She stepped up beside Seven, glancing over some of her cherished books. 

“This is  _ your _ space. I believe, a sacred one at that.” She was in awe of Kathryn’s almost painfully vulnerable yet relaxed expression. 

“You’re right. It is,” she whispered. 

“Thank you, Kathryn,” Seven whispered back. 

“For what?” Blue-grey eyes met hers. 

“For bringing me here. You…” 

Kathryn turned fully to face the blonde. Concern laced her voice. “What?” 

“...You are not what I expected. Your father, he said on many occasions that you were special. Different. He believed if anyone on Earth had survived the outbreak, it would be you. And he was right. You are alive, and you are taking care of those you care about.” She reached a hand up and lightly brushed her fingers over Kathryn’s shoulder. “You are special.” 

Water gathered in Katie’s eyes but she prevented them from falling, holding onto her mask as hard as she could. She didn’t attempt opening her mouth to try to speak—she knew words wouldn’t come. Missing her father was one of the most painful parts of her survival, her survivors’ guilt, next to the loneliness she saw in her mother. Here again, she recalled the way Seven had brought out the woman Katie had missed, not to mention herself as well. How had she done it so seamlessly? Why now? 

“It is unfortunate how the situation has developed.” 

Katie shook off her wonder and frowned at the blonde woman’s words. “Say that again.” 

“I do not think your father would be… impressed.” 

“Excuse me?” The lightness in her chest drained immediately. 

Seven turned fully to mirror her and continued. “You are failing.” 

Katie’s anger licked across her eyes and she clenched her jaw tightly. “Watch it.” 

Seven examined her a moment, but continued unphased. “You are failing, Kathryn. Do you deny it?” 

“Who do you think you are?” Kathryn took a step back, looking over Seven’s frame with disgust. “I have been here since day  _ one _ , taking care of these people, my  _ family _ , making sacrifices. How dare you judge me. You knew my father for a matter of a couple years and you believe you know what he would think of me? You know nothing,” Katie spat. 

Seven was silent and blank as moments ticked by. Finally, with Katie glaring her down, the blonde placed her hands behind her back and stood tall. “I can explain.” 

“I don’t want to hear it,” Katie snapped. “You can explain all you want, but nothing will change. You don’t know  _ us _ , you didn’t know my father, not really, and you don’t know me.” 

“Kathryn…” 

“Stop calling me that! I go by ‘Katie.’  _ Not  _ Kathryn.” 

“I apologize,” Seven tilted her head down, “I did not realize it bothered you. I will try to refrain from using your full name, Captain. However, I  _ would _ like to explain—“

“What did you just say?” Katie studied her as the blonde looked genuinely confused. 

“I don’t…?” 

“You called me ‘Captain.’ Why did you call me that?” 

Seven found a knot of wood in the floor paneling and studied it, cocking her head to one side. “I do not know.” She looked up at Kathryn. “What does it mean?” 

Katie ran her hand through her hair, obviously keyed up and equally irritated. “What is going on? Why—“ She turned back to Seven and approached her. As the silence of the room grew loud in her ears, she whispered, “Why did that sound  _ right _ ?” 

“I do not know,” Seven offered, at a loss herself. “But I must explain what I said earlier. Please, Kathry—Katie.” 

She eyed the blonde suspiciously. A dark thought crossed her mind and she wondered if she’d been too hasty to discount Chuck’s assessment. At the time, it had felt flimsy at best, if not downright offensive. Now, she reconsidered. 

“You are  _ not  _ a failure, Kathryn.” Seven didn’t seem to notice that she’d already reverted back to using her full name, or she simply didn’t care. “You are the most giving, dedicated… the bravest person I know. You would do anything for your  _ family _ , blood and not. You are a leader, and I meant what I said. You are special.” Seven took one more step forward and carefully placed her hands on the redhead’s shoulders. “Not only special to the world, but to me, as well.” She gazed down at the older woman’s lips before focusing on her eyes once more. 

Seven reluctantly withdrew her hands. “But you are drowning. You are giving up too much of yourself. And there is a group of people who love you, all waiting for you to let them come to your aid.” 

Katie frowned as Seven continued, though she wondered if Seven could hear her heart pounding. 

“You are shouldering everything, like you are responsible for all of this. You are not. You cannot be. Furthermore, you do not  _ need _ to sacrifice your being. Your family wants to be close to you, they want to share some of the burden, they are just waiting—“ 

“I can’t,” Katie interrupted, sounding more dejected than Seven had ever heard her. “They think they want that, but they don’t. They don’t want to make the hard choices. They don’t want to be hyper-vigilant, always thinking about the reality around them. They want comfort, and time. I can give them those things.” 

Seven took the final half step forward and placed her palm against Kathryn’s cheek. “You cannot. You must not. You’re right, they do need you. You are here to help them, to guide them, but you are not here to destroy yourself.  _ That  _ is what you’re doing, Kathryn.” 

Water filled her eyes once more and she looked up into the ice blue eyes. The warmth of her hand on her cheek was almost debilitating but she fought it like the stubborn woman she was.

“You must let go, Kathryn. You must allow yourself to  _ be  _ once more.” 

“I can’t.”

“Why?” Seven stroked her cheek, wiping away the errant tears.

Katie slipped her hands around Seven’s on her cheek and lowered the warmth, placing Seven’s palm over her heart, clutching to it. She whispered, barely audible, “if I let go, I may never come back. I can’t afford that risk.” Seven’s breath ran across her and she closed her eyes. 

“Do you think for one moment that they would abandon you?” 

Her eyes opened and she pleaded only with her eyes, asking for something she couldn’t define. 

“Kathryn, they would  _ never  _ abandon you. No matter how far you may fall, they would tear down cities before giving up on you. They’re  _ waiting  _ for you. All they want is your permission to let them share the burden. That’s all. They know you are their leader, and your opinion will be the final one, but they don’t want you to hold all of it here.” She nodded toward where Kathryn kept her hand at her heart. “They watch you, they love you. Every one of them is desperate to share the burden. You must only let them.” 

Tears began to run down her cheeks again, but she shook her head. 

Seven lifted her enmeshed hand to her cheek, wiping away the tears. “And if for some reason they couldn’t reach you, do you think I would let you go? Abandon you? No matter how you feel about me, or don’t feel. You are—everything to me, Kathryn. I would never leave you behind or leave your side.” 

Kathryn jerked forward and threw her body against Seven’s. The warmth of the full-bodied figure enveloped her and she let a little more control go as she nuzzled into the long, leonine neck. Seven’s arms held her tight in a cocoon.

“Seven…” she reluctantly pulled away, only slightly, gazing into the big blue eyes. “I’m not always an easy person to get along with, let alone  _ be  _ with.” 

Seven wiped hair from Kathryn’s forehead, letting her fingers graze her ear and setting under her chin. She tilted her head up a little further. A stern strength in her voice, she responded, “I love you, Kathryn. I will not let you go… unless you wish me to.” She was glad to feel the tightening of Kathryn’s hands around her waist, but her grip loosened just as quickly. 

“Do you promise?” 

The young, earnest expression in Kathryn’s features made Seven’s heart flutter. She brushed her lips against her forehead before intently looking her in the eye. “I promise.” 

It took a moment, but then tears fell, and fell into deep sobs. Seven stroked her back, resting her cheek against Kathryn’s hair, whispering encouragement. 

After a long time, the crying slowly ceased and Katie once more pulled slightly away. Her eyes were puffy from crying, her cheeks slick. She thought she looked rather pathetic, but as Seven kissed her forehead, she took a deep, calming breath. 

The blonde landed another light brush against her temple. She remained frozen to her spot though, afraid to scare her away, afraid for the moment Kathryn would rescind everything. 

Katie gazed at Seven with intensity, looking over her features but continually coming back to her lips and her eyes. Mesmerized. 

“Kathryn?” 

“Hm?” The redhead placed a hand to Seven’s cheek and wiped her thumb over Seven’s lips. 

“Will you—will you kiss me?” 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine. Mind the new rating. Not sure what happened here, but \o/ ;)

“Kathryn?” 

“Hm?” The redhead placed a hand to Seven’s cheek and wiped her thumb over Seven’s lips. 

“Will you—will you kiss me?”

A lazy, infectious smile met her and Katie slipped her arms around Seven’s neck. She pulled her close, but refrained at the very last moment. “Always, Seven.” She pressed against the full lips and immediately felt the consuming rush like a fever burning in her abdomen. 

Kathryn allowed Seven to kiss her thoroughly, which was exactly what Seven did. As soon as Kathryn had let go of a little more control, Seven slipped into the role and catered to her needs. A velvet tongue across her lips, in her mouth, made her hum. Seven’s fingers threaded her hair as she grabbed onto the top of her head and pulled her head back slightly to kiss and stroke every corner of her mouth. Kathryn felt as if she was breaching the surface as Seven released her mouth and placed a number of nips and bites down her throat. Breathing hard, a resonant moan bubbled up and Kathryn was surprised it had come from her own body. 

Seven kissed where Kathryn’s neck met her shoulder, then kissed up once more to run her tongue across the shell of her ear. “Kathryn,” Seven whispered as she kissed her way back to the bruised lips, “I would like to—“ 

Kathryn’s arms wrapped around her neck and Kathryn kissed her hard, pressing her wiry weight into Seven’s curvy frame. The blonde stumbled and they fell backwards, right where Kathryn wanted her. 

With Seven splayed out on the comfortable, plush mat, Kathryn straddled her waist. She eyed Seven below her, running her hands up and down Seven’s arms. Then, with a definitive yank, she pulled the long sleeve shirt over Seven’s head. Milky flesh stood out against the black bra and Kathryn ran her fingers lightly over the bare torso. 

She smiled as Seven’s breathing hooked and changed, coming quicker the more Kathryn caressed her. Her own excitement grew and she was desperate to remove all of the fabric between their bodies. 

With the last piece of clothing coming off, Seven hooked her foot around Kathryn’s leg and flipped their positions. Not quite straddling the smaller woman, Seven slid down Kathryn’s exposed body, running her hands over every curve, crevice and scar, the bone of her hip, the swell of a breast. Spellbound, Seven tried to memorize every texture, every feeling beneath her fingers, every moment.

Kathryn let out a frustrated groan, “Please, Seven! You’re killing me.” 

“What would you like me to do, Kathryn?” Seven nearly purred as she stroked from Kathryn’s shoulder to her hip and back again.

The thick voice and seductive strokes restimulated every part of Kathryn from her crown to the soles of her feet. “Take me.” 

She slid her body out flat, half on top of Kathryn, and swiftly wrapped her warm mouth around Kathryn’s breast. A whimper immediately followed and Seven responded by gently gnawing on the pert nipple. Kathryn groaned and squirmed beneath her, her hands digging into Seven’s hair. “Yes, darling.”

A rush of endorphins shot through Seven, and she switched to the other breast while slipping her thigh between Kathryn’s legs. The redhead strained off the mat in an arc, looking for traction and pressure, gripping Seven’s head tightly. “Oh, darling. Please don’t stop…” 

Seven lapped at her breast, twirling her tongue around the hard point, urged on by the way Kathryn rolled her body against her own. She held herself up momentarily to place her hand against her thigh, then lowering again, she massaged Kathryn with the palm of her hand while she blew cool air against her breast.

An exasperated cry told Seven what she needed to know. Using her thigh to add force to her hand, she slipped two fingers inside of Kathryn. A gasp of air from the redhead was held for long moments until Seven could feel her breath against the top of her head. Moving slowly to begin, Seven pressed in deeper, letting her mouth slip up Kathryn’s breast and nip at her throat. 

Moving together in a dance, Kathryn’s moans began to fill her head, making her drunk on the vibrations and scents and sounds as Kathryn climbed. “More, darling.” 

The heady voice set her ablaze and she whined as she felt the strong resistance as she pulled out. Sliding back in with three fingers, Kathryn’s inner walls greedily captured her. Seven growled as Kathryn’s cries grew an octave, until finally, Kathryn dug her nails into the mat and called out her name as she released in Seven’s hand. 

Panting, her arm covering her eyes, Kathryn’s chest rose and fell hard. Seven studied Kathryn’s sweaty, vulnerable skin and couldn’t wait any longer. She straddled Kathryn’s leg and began to thrust herself against the fine, warm thigh, leaving a trail of herself against her skin. 

Uncovering her eyes, Kathryn looked up at Seven. Her eyes were screwed tight and she strained to stay quiet and composed. Kathryn knocked her over and looked down at her on all fours. Seven curled her hands gently around Kathryn’s biceps, a pleading, pitiful expression. Without constraint, without reprieve, Kathryn lowered herself and entered Seven roughly with two fingers. The space was tight, far tighter than she expected and Seven’s yelp frightened her. 

“Am I hurting you?” She whispered, going to remove herself. 

Seven shook her head vigorously and halted Kathryn’s retreat. Quietly, Seven pushed against her hand to get her moving once more. Kathryn obliged, but she didn’t like how quiet she was. She wanted to hear her, the way Seven had heard her. She shifted without restraint from gentle motions to nearly punishing thrusts, making Seven cry out. A dam must have burst, because Kathryn was serenaded with all of Seven’s moans and cries. 

Seven pulled Kathryn down to her and clung to her, digging her fingernails into her bare back as she nearly blacked out. She hissed as Kathryn thrusted roughly, adding a third finger and filling her to the brim. “Kathryn, yes!” 

Seven’s orgasm affected her whole body, pulling her taut and rendering her silent as she lay unabashedly splayed for Kathryn. The walls around Kathryn’s fingers throbbed as the fluid oozed out. Kathryn pulled her fingers nearly all the way out before grinning and plunging two back in. She was surprised by the suctioned pop and immediately recreated it with another similar push. 

“Kathryn!” Seven clung to her once more. Kathryn spread her fingers inside her and another little death overcame her. Exhausting her remaining energy supplies, and boneless, Seven laid back and Kathryn removed herself from inside. She curled her tongue around her fingers to clean her hand and as she finished was promptly pulled into a lingering, open mouthed kiss.

Kathryn’s eyes grew heavy as she gazed down at the blonde woman beside her. She drew circles on Seven’s chest, occasionally being gifted with a kiss against her forearm. 

“We can’t fall asleep,” Seven whispered lazily. 

“Why not? Do you… not want to stay?” Kathryn stilled her hand. 

Seven’s eyes opened and she sat up on her elbows, though she noticed Kathryn didn’t budge, so their chests fit together snugly. “You will not get rid of me that easily, Kathryn.” 

A warm, honeyed laugh met her before lips kissed her again. “Why can’t we sleep then, darling?” 

The familiar tingle in her abdomen was back and she smiled. “Every time you call me that…” 

Kathryn gave her a lopsided grin, “I guess I’ll have to say it more often... If you’re a good girl.” 

Seven lifted an eyebrow. “I am always good.” 

“Mmhmm, you are.” 

Wine-colored lips brushed against her lips before the tip of Kathryn’s tongue slid across her bottom lip. “I would like to continue this,” Seven replied thickly. “But you must notify the others that we will not be returning to the house this evening.” 

Kathryn whined, “I don’t want to. Do I have to?” 

The pouty look was downright illegal, but Seven remained firm—barely. “Be good.” Seven ogled her bare chest on display. “Be good so we can continue where we left off.”

A shuddered breath later, Kathryn slowly rose from the mat wrapped in one of the throw blankets and moved across the room. She pulled the walkie-talkie out of a drawer, hoping the batteries lasted a little longer so she didn’t have to dig through her backpack for the new ones. 

“Ready room to home base.” She cleared her throat, noticing how sated she sounded. 

“Home base here,” Phoebe’s singsong voice came through the small radio. Kathryn rolled her eyes. Of course  _ she  _ had to pick up. 

“Please tell mom not to worry. I’m going to stay here at the ready room tonight.” 

“Oh?” Phoebe prompted through the speaker. Kathryn could nearly see the devilish expression on her younger sister's face. “What about Seven?”

“Yes,” she said with her teeth clenched, “she’ll be staying here, too. Before you even dare say a word, I want you to remember who it was that broke the jacuzzi,  _ and how _ .” 

Silence filled the room and Seven leaned back against some pillows, watching with a tilt of her head. Kathryn rolled her eyes at the radio, “Don’t ask.” 

“Do you copy?” Kathryn clicked the button. 

“Copy that red hawk. One question…” 

She was sure it was going to be an embarrassing one at that. 

Phoebe continued when no objection came through. “What took you so long?” 

“Goodnight, Phoebs.” Kathryn turned off the device and set it on the coffee table beside her and Seven’s cooled teas. She grabbed the bag with the wool blanket and spread it out over their makeshift bed. “It gets cold up here.” 

Seven nodded, opening up the covers so Kathryn could slide in. “Perhaps,” Seven whispered as she turned on top of Kathryn, “I could keep you warm.” 

Kathryn swallowed at the heavy eyes that seemed to eat her up. She whispered throatily, “I have yet to taste you directly from the source. I think that would keep both of us warm. Don’t you, darling?” 

  
  


*****

The wool blanket was balled up and twisted, no longer covering them. The throw blankets were more than enough as their limbs were entangled, nearly glued, and that was more than enough warmth. Seven opened her eyes slowly, surprised at how refreshed she felt, considering their lack of sleep.  _ Play hard, sleep hard, _ she thought. 

She found her hand covering one of Kathryn’s breasts and rubbed it in gentle circles with the palm of her hand. The nipple sprung up and Seven grinned. She carefully slid away from Kathryn’s body before holding herself above her and lowering her lips around the erect nipple. 

“Mmm,” Kathryn groaned. Her body began to move of its own accord, once more looking for traction. “Seven…” 

The way her name languidly fell from Kathryn’s lips inflamed Seven. She chewed once more, rolling the nipple gently between her molars. 

“Mmph!” Kathryn cried as her eyes opened fully. “Oh, darling…” she held Seven’s head at her breast, wiggling under her frame. “That’s so nice… You are so good to me… please don’t stop, darling…” 

Seven felt her own arousal growing as Kathryn spoke to her in her smoky voice. 

Kathryn pulled her away from her breast as the nub ached pleasurably. She looked deeply into the ice blue eyes. “Drink from me, darling.” 

Seven didn’t need to be told twice. She moved the blanket off them, exposing them both to a temporary chill. She settled herself between Kathryn’s legs, encouraging Kathryn’s limbs over her shoulders. 

“Oh god, Seven…” 

Pulling her upwards, Seven consumed her, sucking the sensitive little numb and lapping Kathryn’s juice in between. Kathryn was nearly there by the time Seven realized she had lost herself in the taste and feel of her lover. 

“Oh god, Seven…” 

“Have I been good, Kathryn?” Seven blew cool air against her wet center. 

“Seven…” 

“Tell me, Kathryn,” the blonde smirked, barely grazing her tongue along her lips. The shudder let her know she accomplished what she wanted. 

“You’ve been so good, so good… please, Seven darling, please. I need you—“ 

Kathryn’s voice halted as Seven pushed her tongue inside. Kathryn came nearly instantly and Seven lapped and sucked and greedily devoured her. She decided she would bring Kathryn to fruition twice, and gently put her fingers around her nerve bundle and manipulated the flesh. 

Kathryn cried out both in surprise and arousal. Before Kathryn could utter a word, Seven curled her fingers around and moved into her as she kept the little bundle between her lips. She braced down Kathryn’s midsection firmly to keep her exactly in place and drew out a long, powerful release.   
  


Kathryn lay breathlessly as Seven watched her, running her finger up and down her naked skin. She both admired and was nervous about the hickeys she left on Kathryn’s neck, and she supposed she had some of her own. 

After laying together in comfortable silence for a while, Seven found blue-grey eyes gazing at her. “What is it, Kathryn?” 

A few tears built in her eyes and Seven drew closer, “Do you regret our… this?” Fear made her heart drop in and out of her chest unpleasantly. 

Kathryn smiled. “Not at all, darling. I’m just… a little overcome. You are…” she touched Seven’s cheek, stroking the smooth skin. “You are the special one. I love you. Despite my insecurities, my fears, despite the fact that I don’t really know you but somehow I do… I love you,” she frowned. 

“That disturbs you,” Seven said with fear as she kissed Kathryn’s fingers.

“No, darling. It doesn’t disturb me. It…” Seven waited, terrified her world was about to collapse. “It—you—humble me. I am yours, Seven, and I feel I always have been.” 

That was when the ground shook and a loud booming explosion enveloped everything around them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder, this has not been beta'd. Thanks for reading! :)

“...I am yours, Seven, and I feel I always have been.” 

That was when the ground shook and a loud booming explosion enveloped everything around them.

“What was—“ Seven stopped mid-sentence. She and Kathryn shared a looked before they launched themselves up from the bed. Tossing on layers of clothing, strapping on leg and hip holsters, double checking their weapons. There was no doubt what the sound had been. 

“How much time do we have?” Seven asked as they climbed down the ladder of the structure.

“Not much,” Kathryn replied shortly.

Seven jumped down and placed a hand on Kathryn’s waist as she followed. Kathryn shook her head, a determined but worried expression shining in her eyes. She waited, barely holding herself back from yanking the woman into her arms. 

“If it's really the quarry…” Kathryn placed a gentle hand on Seven’s cheek. “We need to get everyone to safety. Off the farm.” 

Seven held the hand against her cheek. “We should go north. The facility where your father and I have been. It’s well-stocked and well-protected.” 

Kathryn closed her eyes in relief for a brief moment before nodding once. 

“Kathryn, it is not close. It will not be… easy.” 

She nodded once more. “We have to hurry.” She took her hand away and turned for the farm. At the last moment, she turned back around and pitched herself into Seven’s arms. She pressed her lips to Seven’s, losing herself momentarily in the warmth. “Be careful, darling.” 

“Yes, Captain,” Seven grinned as they rested their foreheads against each other.

  
  


*****

  
  


Kathryn and Seven jumped over the fence at the southern point of the property. Despite the boom of the quarry, the farm was eerily silent. Daybreak had only just come over the horizon and the sky was lit in a greyish blue. Snow was on the way. 

Kathryn gestured for Seven to be quiet as they pulled their guns out and kept them pointed down. They dashed across the first portion of grass, ducking behind a pile of junk that had accumulated after years of walker life. No signs of any movement, noise, activity...  _ Nothing. Not even birds.  _ It was concerning.

Seven kept an eye on what was behind them, though the fence was a sturdy barricade that she’d inspected many times over, looking for weaknesses, as she’d patrolled the perimeter. Still, if Tank and Kathryn’s estimate of the number of walkers at the quarry was accurate… A fence was still a fence. 

Tapping her gently, Kathryn pointed up to the house at the windows, all especially dark behind the curtains. “They’re hunkering down,” Kathryn whispered. 

“Is that safe?” 

She thought a moment before shaking her head. “There are hundreds, if not thousands. We’ll need to hurry. But—it’s so quiet.” 

The lines of worry on Kathryn’s face disturbed her, but she just nodded and followed as Kathryn bolted across the span between them and the house. Seven steadied her breath as she propelled behind Kathryn, letting the licks of tall grass whip at her shins covered in the canvas material. Though small, she was impressed at Kathryn’s speed and dexterity as they leapt over farming equipment, baskets for fruit, and other pieces of material. 

Sliding up to the door, back to back with Seven, Katie turned the knob and found it unlocked. She frowned before swinging the door open and letting it quietly thud against the wall. 

Seven watched her back once more, noticing movement to their east. The four walkers seemed confused, moving without haste, but as the moments ticked by, she realized those four weren’t the problem. Suddenly walkers appeared from the shadows of the woods as far up as half the property along the east side, like a long row of synchronized swimmers breaking the surface. These creatures were cut from a different cloth as their somewhat docile relatives down the way. These walkers were agitated and hungry, and only a few in comparison to the hundreds heading their way behind them. 

“Kathryn…” Seven said quietly. 

“Sh!” 

Seven turned around to find Kathryn standing in the doorway. “We must hurry.” 

“Something’s not right.” 

Seven frowned and turned back to see the progress of the walkers. Only a few close by ones seemed to really notice her and Kathryn. They clawed a bit more eagerly at the fence, but none of the others seemed to recognize how close a fresh meal was waiting.

All of her blood rushed to her head as she squinted across the field. There, just on the inside of the shadows of the trees, just barely visible, a group of figures. Four or five. Standing perfectly still. Dressed in black with their faces hidden behind black veils. The walkers made their way around them, not once seeming to notice. She grabbed Kathryn’s arm roughly, afraid to let the strangers out of sight. 

“Seven, something’s—“ 

“Look.” Seven felt Kathryn turn.

“What is it?” 

“Behind the walker in the green dress.” 

Kathryn squinted, trying to see that far. “I can’t see. What is it?” 

Seven broke away from the figures and turned to Kathryn. She studied her sharp features and the light dusting of freckles along her chest. The copper and red and gold that was her hair, and the penetrating blue-grey eyes. Tilting her head slightly more, something familiar but distant in her mind suddenly seemed to be just right outside her reach. 

“What is it, darling?” Kathryn asked with concern. 

The small number of walkers that had caught her and Kathryn’s movement had amassed a posse. A small crowd swarmed that particular spot, and the group was growing.  _ A fence is still just a fence.  _ As the groans of the walkers grew, it drew in others to their protest at the fence while hundreds more were flooding in from behind.

The sharp snap of metal alerted them to the half-downed portion of fencing. Walkers poured into the space, pushing through with force. The first row of creatures stumbled and fell and became trampled ground for other walkers to tread on. Some crawled. The first five walkers made it safely over the pile of carcasses still twitching and clawing, and many, many more were just behind.

“We can’t stay here, Kathryn.” Seven turned to her intensely. “Where would they go if they aren’t here?” 

“I don’t—I’m not—-“ Kathryn met her eyes with the realization. “Come on!”

Leaping from the patio of her childhood home, Seven hot on her heels, they left the Janeway home to be claimed by the horde of undead at its doorstep. Water stung in Katie’s eyes as she took in their surroundings. Walkers weren’t just coming from the east. There were some west, and others south, where her ready room lay. The thought of her books and her ready room being left behind struck her even more than the house. She’d had so many adventures there as a child, and even now, as an adult. With Seven. Her only guest, she smiled. She eyed Seven over her shoulder as they slid to a stop outside the large double doors of the barn. 

Seven tried to push them open but they didn’t budge. She was just about to pound on it when Kathryn waved her over. Like she’d done it a hundred times, Kathryn grabbed a metal trash bin, flipped it over, jumped on top of it and knocked down a rope that was looped at the side of the barn and hung from the corner of the roof. Impressed, Seven watched as Kathryn yanked on it a few times to test it. The rope was knotted repeatedly in twelve inch interludes and Seven got the picture as Kathryn grabbed one knot and placed her feet around another. Once knot at a time, she climbed the thick rope, keeping an eye around them while Seven prepared to follow suit. 

Seven stopped before she touched the rope, wondering if it could support both of them. Deciding to wait, she turned around in time to be met with four walkers heading right for her. She pulled her gun back out, released the safety and took four direct shots. She brought down three. The fourth was at her feet and she grabbed a baton from her other hip and bashed it over the head. At least eight more were headed straight for her, their groans rising in pitch as other parts of the fence along the property snapped and fell. 

“Seven!” 

She glanced up and saw Kathryn at the roof, who pulled her gun out and began popping off the walkers clawing at her feet. Seven didn’t wait. She jumped up and gripped a knot in time before the trash can fell to its side and was enveloped by the horde. Pulling with her arms alone, she walked up the rope until she had her waist at the edge of the roof. Kathryn slipped her gun away and grabbed onto her, assisting her up the last bit. Seven turned over and lay on her back, breathing hard as she looked up at the blue sky.  _ How could the day be so beautiful?  _

“Seven?” Kathryn put a hand to her forehead, leaning down and into her view. “Are you all right?” 

Seven smiled, “Yes, Kathryn.” 

“Good,” Kathryn breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned down and kissed her. “Don’t ever do that again.” 

She smiled back and rose to her knees on the roof's slightly slanted top. 

“This way,” Kathryn led her to the opposite corner of the barn and pulled on a near-invisible latch. 

Surprised, Seven looked twice at the door as it folded open. “You are very resourceful, Kathryn.” 

“ _ She  _ didn’t come up with it.” Phoebe appeared from the darkness with a large grin, startling both of them as intended. “And you,” she turned to her sister, “I’m guessing you didn’t change the batteries in the walkie-talkie.” 

Kathryn went wide eyed for a moment, shocked and then angry at herself for her selfishness the night before. How long would it really have taken to change the damn batteries? 

Phoebe’s warm touch to her arm brought her back. “We’re okay. You know, we  _ can  _ do things without you.” 

Kathryn nodded, gesturing for Seven to go first. Seeing the guilt in Kathryn’s eyes, she abided by the order. Slipping into the darkness, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. There, on the second story of the barn, was the entire group. B’Elanna and Tom, Tank, Harry and Chuck, Owen, and beside him, Gretchen. Relieved for herself and for Kathryn, she leant her a hand and Kathryn jumped down onto the wood. 

The way Kathryn ran to her mother and embraced her made Seven warm in her chest. Seeing a family with so much love for one another… Her thought was interrupted when Gretchen’s arms wrapped tightly around her. 

“Are you two all right?” 

Seven nodded, rendered silent as Gretchen released her and Kathryn slipped her hand into hers. She took note of those in the group who noticed the gesture. B’Elanna and Phoebe, of course, grinning, and Tank, Chuck. If Gretchen noticed, she didn’t let on. 

“Where have you been?” Chuck’s rough voice intoned from across the barren space. 

Surprised again, Seven couldn’t quite believe how little his gruff, antagonistic demeanor affected Kathryn. The redhead didn’t even seem to have heard him by the way she was acting. She instead turned to the others and smiled at their safety for a brief moment. Sobering, “It was the quarry, wasn’t it.” 

Tank nodded. “It was only a matter of time.” 

“What do we do now?” Gretchen asked with a wobbly voice as she sat beside Owen on a little bench. 

Katie released Seven and put her fingers through her hair. It wasn’t really a matter of where they were going. It was  _ how _ . With two people over 65, a man with a broken leg, and a member of their family obviously a ticking bomb by his increasing hostility… She turned to Tank. “Do we still have access to the van?” 

He nodded. “I checked her last week. Ran her for twenty minutes. She’s full and ready to go.” 

“Who?” Seven asked. 

Katie turned to her with a warm smile, just resisting rocketing across the space and kissing her without inhibition.  _ What have I gotten myself into?  _ she worried, but the thought didn’t take hold. She’d meant what she said to Seven only thirty eight minutes before. Her heart was Seven’s, to do with what she would. 

“A 2028 Chrysler Voyager. It’s a minivan,” Katie smirked. 

Seven frowned to herself as Tom interjected with a question. Why did that seem so familiar? She was sure she’d never heard of a ‘Chrysler,’ a ‘minivan’ or a ‘Voyager,’ but it still gnawed at her. She couldn't place it but the same feeling overcame her—something was just there, just out of reach. 

“Are you okay?” Kathryn asked quietly at her side while the others talked. 

Seven nodded, taking her hand in her own at their sides, and running her thumb over Kathryn’s fingertips. Kathryn smiled bashfully at her and it stole Seven’s breath away. It didn’t matter who those mysterious figures were out there, or the familiarity of random things, or why other things were beginning to feel off around her. What mattered was being with this group. They felt more real than anything else, even her own thoughts.  _ They  _ mattered, all of them, and most of all, the one thing that felt the most right—she was holding Seven’s hand.

“How far is it?” Tank asked. 

Katie squeezed gently and turned to face Tank, keeping hold of the blonde. “What was that?” 

Tank continued, unruffled, “How far is the facility? How long will it take us to get there?” 

Seven responded, “I was able to make it in a month’s time.” 

“A month!?” Chuck shot out of his seat. 

“However,” Seven continued, following Kathryn’s lead by ignoring him, “I was on-foot—I did not have accessibility to a ‘minivan.’ That could significantly alter the time frame.” 

Kathryn nodded, sticking by her side.

Everyone waited while she thought and Seven gently released her. After nodding at her, Katie began to pace as she mulled over the idea. Was there really any choice? They needed to go  _ somewhere.  _ Someplace safe. Getting there wouldn’t be painless, if not disastrous, but what wasn’t any more? Nothing safe, nothing guaranteed. She turned back to her group as they awaited her decision. Seeing their faces, hopeful and sad, frightened more than anything, she knew this wasn’t a decision she could make on her own. 

_ What had Seven said? They’re waiting for me to let them share the burden?  _ She glanced at Seven and found her blue eyes sparkling, a tiny smile curled at the corner of her mouth. The blonde nodded, as if knowing exactly what Katie was thinking. 

Letting out a breath, Katie straightened in front of her group. “We have two choices. We can go to Seven’s facility, and risk the journey. Or, we can find another place, closer. I know what I think, but I want to know what you all think. We’re a team, we need to stick together. I can’t make this choice alone. I… need your input,” she eyed B’Elanna, “your insights,” she eyed Tank, “your practicalities,” she looked at Chuck. “I need to know what everyone thinks. ” 

Katie looked up at Seven to see if she did all right, and Seven shined her a bright smile. She suddenly wanted to weep. More weight slid from her shoulders, weight she hadn’t known was there. Another layer sheared away and released her from the mass pressing down, though she was glad to keep any moisture from falling down her cheeks.

She listened intently as her group voiced their thoughts and discussed the very thing Katie would’ve on her own. She was proud when B’Elanna brought something to the table she hadn’t considered, and in awe of the clever thinking of the group as a whole. A realization hit her, and she assumed it played for Seven to see, as the blonde was at her side in an instant. With a hand to her back, and the other hooked around her arm, she pulled Katie toward her as inconspicuously as possible. 

“What is it?” Seven asked under her breath. 

Katie looked up, no longer caring what the group would think, she pulled Seven down and kissed her gently in the dimness of the barn. Phoebe and B’Elanna gaped obviously, while one other scowled. Katie didn’t notice any of it. She could only feel the warmth Seven brought her, the security and strength she needed, and above all, the depth of her contentment in this strange, blonde woman. 

“Thank you,” Katie whispered as she pulled away from Seven’s lips. 

“Mhm,” Seven responded absentmindedly before shaking out of her daze. A rather smug smile overtook her and she enjoyed the roll of the eyes from Phoebe and B’Elanna. Tom gave her a thumbs up and Harry’s cheeks were red. Seven found it oddly comforting that Tank had no reaction either way.

Katie cleared her throat and they turned their attention back to her. “It sounds like we have a plan.” Despite being momentarily occupied, she’d followed the discussion in full. “We know where we’re going, and how we’re getting there. That’s a good start. But before we can even begin, we need to figure out how to get from here, to the van, and then, off the farm. There’s at least a thousand of them out there.” The group sobered quickly and Katie was proud at the studious, turning wheels that surrounded her. Maybe they wouldn’t make it, but they would fight tooth and nail, and they would go out as a strong family, together.


	13. Chapter 13

Many hours after the surge of walkers, their unified groans seemed to lessen and a somewhat calm energy wrapped around the entire area. Thanks to Chuck and Tank, there were numerous items stored in the barn for just such an occasion, including blankets, food, a bit of ammo and four 30-pack water bottles they’d snatched from a run a few months prior. 

Waiting out the storm wasn’t the first plan, but they'd all agreed it was the safest. Whether they went to the facility or found a closer area, or tried to retake the farm, it was all predicated on surviving their initial imprisonment. The group agreed they would wait three days before Katie would go to the rooftop and check on the grounds around them. They still weren’t sure if there were 50, 100, or a thousand of the undead surrounding them. But the only way to check would be risking gaining the attention of them all. Therefore, it was decided they would wait them out for a while and let them default into their more docile forms. 

Sound was second most important. They were afforded the luxury of being off the first floor and away from the direct presence of the walkers, but even a semi-loud sound could alert the walkers’ attention. Though a loud noise alone wouldn’t enrage them, the barn was old, and no one wanted to find out how much pressure it could take before it buckled. 

Wait, stay quiet, and be calm. That was the plan. 

****

“Come here!” B’Elanna whispered and waved over Phoebe. The youngest Janeway rose from her blanket on the floor and hopped beside her. Seven eyed them from afar while Kathryn slept beside her under her own blanket and a good foot away from her. So close, and yet, agonizingly far.

A quiet giggle came from Phoebe and it got the better of Seven. She flipped the blanket off her and passed by the others still sleeping tucked inside their own little cocoons. “What is it?” she whispered. 

B’Elanna put her hands on her shoulders and drove her to a specific spot where Phoebe assisted in getting her to the exact right position. Seven begrudgingly allowed them to manhandle her. Finally ‘in the correct pose,’ B’Elanna put a finger under her chin and unceremoniously tilted her head up. Directly above her was a rather small hole in the ceiling. Thanks to the angles, the light outside didn’t seem to penetrate it. But, Seven realized there was something floating down, something she hadn’t noticed from the other side of the room. She frowned at the speck as it twirled and scooped its way down before landing on the tip of her nose. She put her finger to it and felt the cold wet spot. Turning to B’Elanna and Phoebe, a wide grin covered her face and the two women smiled in return. 

Katie reached out beside her with her eyes closed, reaching for Seven and finding an empty blanket. Opening her eyes slowly, her toes and nose chilled, she looked up in time to see Seven’s broad grin. It softened Katie’s muscles while a pleasant fluttering started in her abdomen. She knew she was starry eyed as she stared openly at the blonde. A splash of red reached her cheeks as she recalled their last session of lovemaking. They needed to get out of the damn barn as soon as possible! She smiled darkly as the blonde turned around and met her gaze. 

Seven quietly gasped as she met Kathryn’s lidded gaze. It was still a shock to her that she had kissed, tasted--been with the redhead so intimately. The way Kathryn’s voice imbued her, the feeling of her breath on her skin, her nose nudging Seven’s throat and pelvis. 

Kathryn patted the spot beside her, and the hair on Seven’s arms rose. 

“You better go before she pounces,” B’Elanna whispered. Phoebe giggled quietly once more and Seven nodded at the two women. Glad to have their support, she smiled demurely at them before crossing back to where Kathryn lay. 

“I thought you didn’t want…” Seven whispered, gesturing around them at the sleeping bodies. 

“It’s early still,” Kathryn purred.

Seven allowed herself to be partially covered by the blanket, one of Kathryn’s legs and one arm. 

Sliding her core against Seven’s hip, Seven looked at her wide-eyed. “Kathryn,” she chided quietly. 

“Mm,” Kathryn responded. “I’ll stop if you kiss me,” she smirked as she slid against her once more. 

Seven placed a hand on Kathryn’s chin and turned her head so she could claim her mouth. Kathryn’s body stilled as one of her hands held on firmly to Seven’s opposite bicep. She clung tighter as Seven slipped her tongue into her mouth and teased her, not letting her catch up to her movements. Kathryn grunted quietly and Seven pulled away with open wet lips. “You have to be quiet, Kathryn.” 

The redhead touched the metal above her eye, stroking it in equally provocative swipes with her fingers. Seven closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. She would not be distracted, though her eyes grew heavy at the pleasure that ran down her neck and spread through her veins. 

She stilled Kathryn’s hand and brought her hand to her lips to kiss the wonderful fingers she couldn’t seem to tire of. “You should sleep some more, Kathryn.” 

A little pout met her before Kathryn placed her hand on Seven’s stomach. “Will you stay with me?” 

Seven grinned, “if you will permit me.” 

Kathryn wrapped around her tighter as she lay down fully. Seven pulled the blanket around them completely and closed her eyes as she ran her hand through Kathryn’s hair. 

*****

“Kathryn,” Seven said once more. She gently touched her arm in the dark barn, then putting a lingering hand on her cheek. The redhead’s eyes opened with a start and she breathed hard. 

“What--” 

“You were dreaming.” 

Katie looked around the room and found their fellow group spread out around the large second floor. She figured it was still very early in the morning of their second day. “Seven,” she turned back to her and looked deeply into her eyes. 

“What were you dreaming?” 

Katie turned away again. How could she put it without sounding ridiculous? Of all the people who would hear her out, she knew it would be Seven, but it was concerning all the same. She didn’t know that she really wanted to voice any of it at all. 

She came back to herself feeling Seven’s thumb stroking her arm. The ice blue eyes waiting on her patiently, lovingly. She pulled her in for an affectionate kiss. “Mmm,” Kathryn sighed, “how do you do that, darling?” 

“Do what, Kathryn?” Seven asked innocently with a less naivete twinkle in her eye. 

She pulled her close and nuzzled into her body. Seven’s arms wrapped her in an embrace, a soothing circular motion going around on her back. 

“Tell me what you dreamed.” 

A long breath left her lungs as she held onto Seven tighter. “It was unsettling.” 

“Mhm.” 

“I--there was… You and I were back at Wyldman’s.  _ That  _ night. When you--you know.”

“Excuse me,” Seven husked, “I don’t believe it was only me who engaged in ‘you know’ that evening.” 

Katie chuckled quietly into Seven’s neck. “You’re right, darling. It was that night when we both ‘engaged’ with each other.” 

“Better,” Seven whispered through a smile. She let out a quiet yelp as Kathryn bit her neck. “Sorry,” Seven whispered, “I didn’t realize you were feeling so ferocious.” 

“Did I hurt you?” Katie frowned, about to move out of her embrace to look her in the eyes. Seven held her tighter. 

“No, honey,” she whispered. 

The term struck Katie and she pressed a sweet kiss to the spot she’d just bitten. 

“Please continue, Kathryn.” 

“Seven! We can’t!” A genuine laugh followed from Seven and a surge of emotion flooded Katie once more. She loved her more than she thought she could ever love anyone. 

“I meant your dream, Kathryn.” 

“Oh,” she blushed, “right. So, we were at Wyldman’s, and there was a sound outside the room. You said you were going to check it out. I told you not to, but you wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t just let you go out there by yourself. Even though you closed the door behind you, I opened it and followed.” 

“Of course you did.” 

“Ha. Ha,” she rolled her eyes. “I turned on a light in the room,” she rose to her elbows and looked into Seven’s concerned face. “It wasn’t walkers.” 

“What was it, honey?”

Her stomach knotted briefly at the wonderful way Seven spoke to her. “There were four people.” She lowered her voice, “but… there was something wrong with them. They were different. They were strangely tall, almost like they were looming. And they stood in a clump together. I couldn’t see their faces or hands or anything. They all wore these black shrouds.” 

“Kathryn, I must ask you something that will sound strange. Is that all right?” 

“Of course, Seven. Anything.” She tilted her head, unsure where she was going. 

“These people in your dream... Were they wearing black veils?” Seven waited, absolutely still as a number of different emotions swept over Kathryn’s visage. Worry, fear, surprise, confusion.

Katie shook her head. “ _ How _ do you know that?”

Seven’s mind raced. What  _ did  _ it mean? She knew for certain that it meant  _ something _ , but figuring out what exactly would be difficult. All kinds of outrageous scenarios played out in her mind. Government experiments--that’s what Chuck had said about her. Edward--he was military, did he have a part in this? Walking dead--that was insane in itself, wasn’t it? Yet, here they all were. Were they all delusional? 

“Seven?” Katie said a little louder. Finally, the blue eyes met hers. “What’s going on in there?” She placed a hand to Seven’s temple, her brows pulled taut in concern. 

As Gretchen, Tank and Tom began to stir, Seven shook her head. 

“Come here,” Kathryn rose from the ground and held her hand out. She stretched her back as she picked up her blanket and tugged Seven along with her. They found the furthest corner away from the others. Kathryn laid a blanket out for them to sit on and they rested their backs against the cool wooden wall. 

Sitting in silence for minutes, Seven watched the others as they rose lethargically from sleep. Tank and Owen were talking quietly, while B’Elanna and Tom argued just as softly. Phoebe, Gretchen and Harry already had the Scrabble board laid out. Sitting all the way across from them, Chuck whittled a stick he thought he could use in a jam as a stake.

Kathryn’s hand rested on Seven’s knee and she greedily took it up in her own. She stared at Kathryn’s long fingers as she ran down the veins and over the wrinkles. 

“Seven?” 

The blonde turned apprehensively to meet blue-grey eyes. They seemed to plead with her, saying more than Kathryn ever needed to verbalize. But the thought of losing her, of voicing her own fear was yet stronger and she broke their line of sight. 

Scooting closer, Katie pressed against Seven and hugged the blonde woman’s knee toward her so Seven would turn toward her. It worked, though Seven seemed reluctant to allow it. 

“I don’t--” she held on tighter to Kathryn’s hand. “I don’t want you to think I’m crazy--and I may be, Kathryn. I may very well be.” 

A warm palm met her cheek and directed her head up. The warm, affectionate smile made her visibly tremble.

“What did you just tell me, darling?” 

The husky voice made her eyes heavy but the question itself brought her back. “What do you mean?” Kathryn examined her momentarily before shining another grin. 

“You told me you would be here for me, no matter what--”

“I will, Kathryn, I promise,” Seven sat up straighter, alarmed. 

“I know,” she leaned in and kissed her cheek. “But what I’m saying is that I would do no less for you, too. If we’re partners, which I hope we are, then this is part of my job.” 

Seven frowned, “If you do not want to--” 

“Darling. Please. I was only teasing. I love you. Please tell me what’s going on, what you’re thinking. I promise I will be here, I’m not going anywhere. I couldn’t even if I wanted to, and I don’t mean because of all those meat-eaters out there.” She winked.

Two tears slid down Seven’s right cheek and Kathryn quickly wiped them away. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kathryn repeated and pulled Seven into her arms. 

“What’s going on over there?” Phoebe asked B’Elanna. Chuck looked up from his whittling and glared at Seven in Kathryn’s arms. He had no idea what was going on, that was certain. 

“They’re so cute,” B’Elanna responded. 

“Gross,” Phoebe rolled her eyes, but winked at her all the same. 

Seven shifted her eyes around Kathryn until she was able to finally meet her dead-on. 

Kathryn placed the back of her hand gently against her cheek. “Tell me, darling. Please.” 

She gulped. “Have you noticed that some things feel ‘off’?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Like, we’re not supposed to be here. Or, we’re here but we’re not. Those people you saw in black… I’ve seen them, too. I saw them yesterday when we got back from the ready room.”

Katie nodded, recalling Seven asking her to look from the front door of the house.

“They just stood there. In the middle of everything.” 

“Wait... “ Kathryn frowned as she thought. “The walkers--” 

“Didn’t even notice them.” 

“Maybe… maybe they’re immune. Or, or maybe the walkers couldn’t see them because of what they were wearing…” It sounded stupid, she knew she was just grasping for straws. She shook her head. “It’s not any of that, is it.” 

“I don’t believe so, Kathryn.” 

“What  _ do  _ you think?” 

Seven glanced at her hesitantly before letting out a breath. “I do not believe this is real.” 

“What?” Katie couldn’t hide the alarm in her voice. She tightened her hold around Seven’s hand. “This is real, Seven. It has to be.” 

She nodded. “This,” she kissed Kathryn’s fingers, “this is real. But this,” she gestured to everything around them, “is not.” 

“What about the others?” 

“I believe…. some of them are real. Some are not.” 

Katie didn’t want to know which ones, but she had a faint inkling, which she continued to push away. “How do we… know for sure?” 

Seven looked up at the ceiling, far away in thought. How  _ would  _ they figure it out? What if it was real? No one could be put in danger. None of the others. But she was sure she was right. She knew it, even if her own mind occasionally doubted it. 

She turned back to the redhead who had curled her body around her. Tightening her embrace, Seven whispered into her hair. “You must trust me, Kathryn. Can you do that?” 

A few moments passed. 

Kathryn whispered, “yes, darling.”

Seven leaned back against the wall with a deep breath. Having Kathryn in her arms made everything better. She knew, knew deep down that she was right. She had to be.  _ One bite, _ she thought,  _ just one. _


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. I'm itching to get this story completed so I can start up a Christmas one, and get back to the Harry Potter crossover. Thank you all for reading! <3 I think this will wrap up in another two chapters. Let's hope. lol Please excuse the definite grammar issues. XD <3

The third morning brought with it four inches of snow. The entire farm was blanketed in soft, white powder that reminded Katie of many winters of her childhood. Namely the warmth of the house after she and Phoebe had been out for an hour in the cold. Then, when she was older, looking out of her office window in the city, and smiling down at the families using the ice rink across the street. 

Sitting on the wet roof, Katie didn’t mind a stopover in her memories; a break from the present was a welcomed rest. 

*****

“What are you doing?!” Chuck skipped the last two steps and rushed to the barn doors. He grabbed Seven’s arms tightly and yanked her away from the door, trying to toss her aside. Seven barely budged and turned to face him, holding up a four inch knife. 

“Remove your hands,” she said through her teeth.

He glared before stepping back two paces. Remembering his gun was upstairs on the bench, his jaw clenched. He scolded himself as the stairs pounded under the soles of the group as they descended down. 

Tank kept Gretchen, Owen and Phoebe back, while B’Elanna slid in beside Chuck with Harry and Tom following close behind. 

“What’s going on?” B’Elanna asked as she looked between Chuck and Seven. The blonde woman kept her knife in front of her while another hand stayed on top of the chains locking the barn doors.

“She’s trying to let the walkers in!” Chuck growled. He turned back to glare at the others, “I told you all.” 

Seven shook her head. “I’m not trying to let anything in.” 

“Then what are you doing, dear?” Gretchen asked innocently. 

She let out a long breath and then looked over the group lined around the stairs. “Where is Kathryn?” 

“Why?” Chuck interrogated, especially suspicious. 

“What’s going on?” Kathryn asked at the top of the stairs. She walked down as the others parted a way for her. Putting a hand to Chuck’s arm, she pressed herself in between him and Harry on his other side. “Seven? What are you--” 

“You said you trusted me,” Seven kept her knife drawn. It would be easy to get her to drop it, she knew, but she was glad no one tried. 

“I do, darling. You know that.” Kathryn frowned, trying to understand. 

“This is the way.” 

She watched as Kathryn’s wheels turned. Kathryn eyed the barn door, eyed Seven’s hand, the knife, the way the door had left drag marks on the dirt covered floor, Seven’s rolled up sleeve exposing one forearm. She flicked her attention back to Seven and tilted her head. 

“Seven,” she warned, “this is  _ not  _ the way.” 

“It is the only way. We will not know for sure unless I do…” she looked around at the others, “‘this’.” 

“What are you guys talking about?” Phoebe voiced for the rest of the group. 

Seven couldn’t break away from the blue-grey eyes, which held her in place from some feet away. “Kathryn. I--”

“I love you, Seven,” she pleaded. “Don’t.”

The entire space instantly stilled as the desperate words left Katie’s mouth. She could feel the others staring. Had they really not suspected how deep her feelings ran? “I can’t let you--I can’t lose you.” 

The blonde smiled widely at her, to her complete confusion. “I love you, too, Kathryn. But you are no longer alone. When-- _ if  _ I turn, you have your family with you.” She nodded to their observers. “They will not leave your side, Kathryn. They will be there for you when you need to take a break.” 

“You promised,” she growled through her teeth. “You promised you wouldn’t--” 

“And you promised to trust me. I am not leaving you, Kathryn. I am doing what needs to be done. I am the most expendable.” 

“You are not!” Kathryn drew closer but Seven kept her knife drawn, briefly closing her eyes at the pain of doing so. 

Katie ceased her forward motion. She could see the pain it was bringing Seven, she knew the blonde was right that the action was the needed one. But  _ who  _ did it was not something they’d agreed on yet. “It’s supposed to me,” she said quietly. 

Seven instantly drew herself further back, trying to instinctively block the doors so Katie wouldn’t be able to get by. It was sweet, Katie thought, but the affection she felt was short lived as the terrible reality sank in once more. 

“Seven--” 

“No, Kathryn. I must. You cannot change my mind.” A tear slid down her cheek as she watched Kathryn’s heart break in front of her. The redhead tried damn hard to hold herself together, biting down on her bottom lip with such strength that Seven feared she’d break the skin. “Plea--” her voice cracked. “Please,” she whispered, “let me do this.”

Kathryn straightened where she stood. Her sadness dissipated as a cool, impassive expression fell over her. It terrified Seven. Her heart dropped in her chest. Kathryn was retreating inside herself once more. 

“Stop!” Seven nearly screamed. A couple moans rang out around them outside and the group inside jumped, surprised into silence. Seven folded her knife closed and slipped it into her pocket. She moved forward quickly, pulling Kathryn into her arms tightly. 

“Do not disappear,” she whispered into red locks. 

A quiet sob met her in return and Seven sighed a breath of relief. Sobs meant Kathryn had ceased her retreat. She had not gone too far away before Seven was able to stop her. She was only half-aware of the group around them, most looking down or away. 

“Kathryn, honey,” Seven pulled back a little and wiped away water from Kathryn’s cheeks. “I must do this. I can’t explain why. I only know that… it is what I’m supposed to do.” Kathryn’s hands were clasped around her waist, even tighter as they looked into each other's eyes. 

Katie rested her forehead against Seven’s chin. “I don’t want to lose you. I just found you.” 

Seven smiled, moving her head away and to the side to kiss her tenderly. “This is the only way to know for certain. And, I will not do it if you do not approve.” That earned her Kathryn’s devoted attention once more. “However, I believe that we both _ know  _ it is _. _ ” 

Kathryn ran her fingers over the metal above Seven’s eye as she had the first time. Always pleasantly surprised at the metals warm buzz, the electricity that jolted both her and Seven was stronger than ever. It was always that way when they were close. 

Seven closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms more snugly around the small-framed woman. Drawing her in, she took a deep swallow of her scent, her heart and stomach fluttering at the sensation of warmth against her. Carefully, slowly, Seven began to ease her hold. 

She extracted herself, her hands catching Kathryn’s. She squeezed them gently before struggling to release her completely. 

Katie watched with tears in her eyes as Seven backed away to the doors and budged them open slightly.

“Katie!” Chuck called.

She shook her head at him, never taking her eyes away from the blonde. Everyone else watched in stunned horror as Seven flicked open her knife. She carefully stuck one arm out between the chained doors and then snapped her fingers a few times. 

She eyed a walker staggering toward her a few feet away, crunching as it slid through the snow. Mounds of snow gathered at its feet as he dragged itself closer. 

“Seven?” Gretchen said aloud, alarmed. 

She ignored the plea. Keeping an eye on the walker, she prepared her knife in her other hand and turned her body completely away from the group. She hissed loudly as the walking dead thing bit into her forearm with force. Struggling for a moment, she was able to slip her other hand through the tight space and plunge the knife directly down in the center of it’s head. It collapsed onto the snow with her knife firmly planted in it. Sliding both her arms inside, she quickly pushed the barn doors back so the narrow space was no more. 

Blood dripped from her bare forearm and someone gasped. She couldn’t tell who. Instead, she turned to Chuck. “There’s rope upstairs. Get it. You must bind me.” She watched as a series of suspicions played out on his face before he turned to fetch it. 

“What’s going on, Seven?” B’Elanna whispered, moving toward her. 

Seven put her other hand out. “Do not come closer.” Chuck arrived with the rope, and his gun in its holster, she noted. “Tie my hands.” She hissed once more as he wrapped the rope around her wrists. “Tighter.” 

He paused before tightening the knots.

“Tank,” Seven turned to him, “I am sorry to ask this of you… If I turn, you  _ must  _ kill me. I trust that you will be able to do this, even if you are asked not to. Will you comply?”

The lanky dark-skinned man frowned slightly. He glanced at Katie, who stared at the ground, self-controlled. Nearly dejected, he nodded. 

“B’Elanna,” Seven turned to her next, “if something happens to Tank, you are to complete the task. Do you comply?” 

“No.” 

Seven tilted her head. “You are the next strongest individual here. You must.” 

“Why did you do this?” she demanded furiously. 

“It is important.” 

“Tell us why.” 

Seven looked to Kathryn, unsure how to answer. The redhead was still frozen to her spot, every inch of her pained. She looked up and shook her head at Seven. The blonde turned back to B’Elanna. “It is important. That is as much as you need to know.” 

B’Elanna let out a dispirited breath. “Fine. You want me to kill you when you turn. Fine, Seven.” 

“Why did you let her do this!” Phoebe came in hot, shoving Kathryn. “You just stood there!” Kathryn did not argue back. “Why!” She pushed her again. “You just killed her!” 

“Phoebe Janeway!” Seven raised her voice in the sternest timbre any had heard. The youngest Janeway turned to her quickly, her puppy eyes so wounded by the situation that Seven was sure she’d break down completely. 

Seven softened her voice considerably. “You should not speak to her that way. This is not Kathryn’s fault.” 

“Like hell! She coulda just stopped you!” 

“No,” Seven responded strictly. “You will not blame Kathryn for this. You will blame this world we live in, but even then, only for a short while.” She looked to Kathryn. “You will let this go if I do not survive. You will heal. You will allow your family to care for you.” She turned back to Phoebe once more. “It is my last wish.” 

“Wait,” B‘Elanna interjected, “you keep saying ‘if’ you die. The disease isn’t curable, obviously,” she gestured around them. “So what gives?” 

Seven was aware this was another attempt at garnering the ‘why’ of all of it, but she could only offer so much. Hope would be devastatingly ripped from them if she told them their theory and it turned out to be untrue, which was highly probable. Still, part of her insisted that her instinct was right, as was Kathryn’s. 

“We are testing a hypothesis, B’Elanna. That is all I can say at this time. What is the fastest turnaround for the disease?”

“Four hours,” she grumbled. 

Seven nodded, gulping. “And the longest?” 

She bobbed her head, thinking it over. “No more than eight. Fever and chills onset only a short window before the brain swells. It’s a quick death once the virus wins the battle.” 

Seven quirked her brows. “I suppose that should give me some solace.” 

Kathryn, who had remained disturbingly quiet through all of it, suddenly turned on her heel and moved up the stairs. Before Phoebe could say anything, Seven cut her off. 

“Let her be.” 

Gretchen looked after her daughter for a few long moments before turning to view Seven once more. The blonde felt shame run through her as the older woman made her way across the room. She stopped a few feet before her, looking her over. 

“I hope that you and Kathryn made the right decision.” 

Seven nodded, her eyes glued to her own boots. 

“You better have,” Gretchen words were laced with a warm smile that drew Seven’s attention. “It may be the end of the world, but I’m still looking forward to having you as my daughter-in-law.” 

Seven’s brow almost lifted off her head and it made Gretchen chuckle. “It won’t be a large affair, mind you, but I’ve thrown a wedding or two in my day. I can’t recommend a better wedding planner.” 

Seven’s slow, wide smile lit the room and tears welled in her eyes. 

“Now, now. If you and Kathryn came up with this hypothesis, I find it very unlikely that it’ll fail. I want you to think about where you’d like to have the ceremony and by whom. I would be happy to train anyone to officiate. Okay, Seven?” 

Seven nodded, unable to form any words in response. Gretchen didn’t seem to need them. The older woman smiled and quietly made her way up the stairs. 

“I hope it works out,” Harry said to her with his shoulders hunched over, before following Gretchen.

Chuck eyed her a moment, nodded once and left her. Tank did the same. 

“Do you need any water or anything?” B’Elanna asked. 

“Yes, please. I have one by where I slept last night.” 

“I’ll get it,” Tom responded. 

“I’ll check on you in a little while,” B’Elanna whispered and followed Tom. 

Owen said nothing as he stood on the stairs, but they stared at one another for a few long moments before he turned and left as well. Finally, everyone had gone, except Phoebe. 

“I don’t understand it. She loves you. I mean, I thought she did. Doesn’t she?” 

Seven nodded as she lowered herself to the floor and leaned back against the wood. “That is why she allowed me to do this. It is a testament of her love for me.” 

“So it’s your fault.” Phoebe paced back and forth.

Seven ripped the material from her shirt sleeve and wrapped it around the wound. The blood from the bite had already congealed and the throbbing quickly went down with the pressure of the wound material. It wasn’t a deep bite, only just deep enough for their purposes. 

“I suppose you could put it that way.” 

“I thought you would bring---and you did, but now?” 

“I’m not sure what you mean.” 

Phoebe shook her head. “Yeah.” She turned away and left the bound blonde frowning.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the encouragements! Not quite done yet, but close. ;)   
> _______________________________________________________

“Where do you think you’re going?” Phoebe called darkly. 

Chuck paused at the bottom of the ladder to the roof. Everyone in the room looked on, except Seven, who was still tied up downstairs. 

He let out a short, annoyed breath. “I’m going to check on Katie.” 

“No, you’re not,” Phoebe interjected and placed herself in front of him. 

Gretchen went to get up but Owen placed a hand gently on her arm. She sat down once more. 

“Phoebe—”

“No!” She snapped. “I know what you’re trying to do! You’re gonna—“ 

“I’m going to speak with her. She needs someone to talk to.” 

“If she wanted to talk, she’d be in here.”

“Look, I’m going to talk to her,” Chuck threatened, “and you are going to move out of my way.” 

“Not over my dead body,” Phoebe spat. “I know what you’re going to do! You’re going to take advantage of her! She’s heartbroken and you’re going to try to—to—”

“In what world would Katie ever be taken advantage of? She’d throw me off the roof if I tried anything. You know that,” Chuck scoffed.

“Don’t tell me what I know about my sister,” she growled. 

B’Elanna rose from her spot beside Tom, and carefully approached the two. “What’s going on?” She asked to neither one in particular. 

Red faced, Phoebe was gearing up for a hot-headed tirade that B’Elanna was not only aware of, but rather endeared to. Instead of letting it escalate however, she put a hand to Phoebe’s arm and blocked Chuck from her view. “I know how you feel.” She glanced back at Chuck behind her shoulder, offering him a knowing, patient look, before turning back to her friend. “We’re all really stressed right now.” She shook her head, trying not to think about their new friend tied up downstairs. “But I think Katie would want us to be able to take care of things while she’s getting her head on.” 

“I agree,” Phoebe responded clearly. “But  _ he  _ has been waiting for an opportunity to do this very thing. I wouldn’t put it past him if he’d set this up somehow.” 

A scoff behind B’Elanna made her eyes bug but B’Elanna wrapped her arms around the young woman and pulled her into a tight hug. She tried to reject the comfort but as B’Elanna clung to her, she finally let go and squeezed back. 

“I don’t trust him,” she said clearly, looking at Chuck over B’Elanna’s shoulder in their embrace. 

“Phoebe?” A quiet voice called. “Can you please come down here?” 

Phoebe glared at Chuck, assessing whether or not she wanted to allow him passage to her sister. B’Elanna pulled away and nodded at her, and she finally backed off. 

Shoving past him, Phoebe crossed the deadly silent room to the stairway that led down. 

“Wait,” Tom called and tossed her bottle of water, “she asked for some.” 

Phoebe nodded. Her back to Chuck, the hatch in the ceiling opened and let in a sharp cold wind as he climbed out. It thumped closed behind him, cutting off the cool air and bright white light. 

“Phoebe?” Seven called again. The youngest Janeway continued. 

*****

Sitting at the center of the roof, Katie looked up into the blue and grey sky, admiring the tops of nature she could see without any hint of the nightmare they lived in below. They were slower in the cold, but just as needy for fresh meat as ever. The hatch to the roof opened at her back across the barn roof, and she slipped her arms around her knees, resting her head to the side to look out at the snow covered treetops. 

She could tell before he even got real close that it was Chuck. His footfalls were distinct, as was his musk as a neared. He sat beside her, leaving a wide gap between them, as if Phoebe could see them. 

He looked around them at the tops of trees and old, useless telephone wires that spanned out across the area. Telephones. How he missed those little devices. Even more, hearing a voice at the other end, like his sister or his nephew. But that was a long time ago, and everyone else he knew was dead. Or worse: undead. 

He sat quietly beside the woman he’d loved for the last five years. Unrequited love, he thought, was worse than not loving at all. But that ship had sailed. Even before the strange blonde showed up. There was one time he thought he may have won the auburn-haired woman’s affections, but he’d been wrong. He shook the thoughts away and let out a soft breath. 

“What do you want?” Kathryn asked, her head turned away and resting on her knees. 

“Nothin’,” he shrugged. 

She rolled her eyes, wiping away tears from her cheeks. She missed the feel of Seven’s arms around her as she cried. Had that only been a few days ago? She sighed. And now what? Seven was going to die. Alone. And turn into one of those  _ things _ . She bit her lip as a fresh round of tears came. She choked them back, only her labored breaths meeting anyone’s ears. 

Check lifted his hand to place on her back when he stopped and pulled his hand back. He didn’t want to be thrown from the roof, and he had no doubt that’s how she’d take the gesture. He couldn’t blame her for that. 

“So, you’re just going to sit up here like a coward?” 

Katie’s breath caught and she furiously wiped away her tears as she turned to him. Enraged, her jaw was tight and she squeezed her hands into fists. He glanced at her nonchalantly and looked back toward the house and his RV. 

“Excuse me?” Katie grunted. 

Chuck glanced at her and caught her eye. A small smile began to grow on his lips. 

“What the hell are you smiling at?” 

He shook his head, running his finger through the snow in front of him. “You really do love her.” 

“And?” 

He grinned. “It looks good on you.” He rubbed away the tears on one of her cheeks. “Why are you sitting up here?” 

She frowned, looking for the trick in his change. 

“If it were me, I’d spend every possible minute with the person I loved.” He pulled his hand away and looked out at the scenery again. “I’ll miss this place.” 

She smiled slightly as she looked out. “Yeah.” Looking over her shoulder at the hatch, she didn’t turn him as she mumbled an ‘excuse me’ and left. 

*****

Obviously annoyed, Phoebe begrudgingly flopped down to the floor, crossing her legs and playing with a thread along the seam of her pant leg. 

Seven watched her in the dim room, sipping at the cold water that jolted her awake as it hit her throat and traveled down. 

“Why did you do that?” Phoebe’s voice was gravelly, poorly hiding the emotion behind it.

“Do what?” Seven asked, her head tilted. She wondered if Phoebe would look at her again before—if—she died. 

“I thought you loved her,” Phoebe asserted vocally. 

“I do.” 

Phoebe scoffed and put her hands against her temples. “Then  _ why  _ would you let Chuck go up there!? He’s trying to get in her pants and you do nothing?” She waited for a response, but none came. 

“Do you know how long it's been since I’ve seen my sister? My  _ real  _ sister?” 

Seven frowned. “Explain.” 

She jumped to her feet, crossing the room back and forth. “Kathryn has been gone for so long.  _ Years _ , Seven! Years  _ before  _ all this bullshit. I thought I lost my sister for good.” 

Confused, Seven went to ask another question but was cut off as Phoebe continued. 

“She got so—lost. I missed her. I—underneath everything, I never really thought I’d see my sister again. I can’t even say what happened. It was like one day, everything broke. She broke.” Phoebe sighed audibly. 

“Then, in the middle of the worst time of any of our lives, some woman shows up. And it’s like—ding! Katie is smiling and  _ laughing _ . And it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to any of us. But, it does. Like now all the pieces have come together. Things make sense in some way.” 

The entire barn seemed to hold its breath and then let out a sunken sigh. 

“And now you’re going to die. Because of some stupid, idiotic reason that neither of you will tell us about! And all of this  _ after  _ you make this big deal out of her needing to trust us. What the hell?” 

“I—”

“What? You what?” She scoffs. 

“Phoebe, Kathryn is her own person. I do not control her or what she does. If she wishes to speak with Chuck, who is her friend, that is her choice. If she chooses to find comfort in him… this is also her choice. I want her to be happy.” 

“And killing yourself is going to make her happy?” 

Seven closed her eyes. “Kathryn has requested that I not share the details about why we are doing this.” 

“I don’t care! We deserve to know!” 

Upstairs, the group sat around listening carefully to every word exchanged below. Gretchen took comfort in Owen holding her hand, while Tank sat in a meditative pose with his eyes closed. B’Elanna shoved down a few errant tears while she listened to her best friend desperately try to understand why—why needless death, why living dead, why Katie would allow this when she found happiness, why. 

Outside her better judgement, Seven nodded at Phoebe. “This will be difficult for you to understand.” 

Everyone’s ears perked as they waited for the explanation Phoebe fought for on their behalf. 

“Kathryn and I have discovered that we have been sharing a similar… nightmare.” 

“Yeah, the whole world is a nightmare,” Phoebe crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. 

“Indeed. However, these nightmares, sleeping  _ and  _ waking, share some commonalities that go beyond the coincidental.” 

B’Elanna turned to Tom with a start and they stared into each other's eyes as Seven continued. 

“There have been… figures. Something uncanny, even for, as you mentioned, this nightmare world.”

Footsteps came down the stairs, and they turned to find B’Elanna leading the way. Tom followed behind her apprehensively. 

“What did they look like?” 

“I’m sorry?” 

B’Elanna nodded upstairs. “We’ve been listening. What did these figures look like?” 

Weighing the options, she decided to offer a little bit more, hoping Kathryn wouldn’t be disappointed in her further. “They're usually in a group of five or six, but I have seen one on their own as well.” 

“Tom,” B’Elanna turned to him. He still seemed concerned but finally nodded. 

Turning back quickly, B’Elanna asked the question she hoped would shed some light on her and Tom’s problem. “Did they wear all black?” 

By the widening of Seven’s eyes, she knew they were speaking about the same thing. The rest of the group had made their way down the stairs and joined them. 

Harry spoke up next, timid but unwavering. “I’ve seen them, too.” 

“As have I,” Tank added. “They wear ve—”

“Veils,” four of them said in unison. 

Phoebe looked around her suspiciously, eying each one of them carefully. “So you’re all seeing some people dressed in black? And what? You think…?” 

Seven adjusted her hands in her lap, the rope chafing her wrists uncomfortably. “Kathryn and I have discussed the possibility that… perhaps we are not where we are being directed to believe we are.” 

Phoebe waited, eyebrows high on her forehead. “And instead you are… where?” 

“We do not know. However, if we were to prove that our surroundings are manufactured, that would give us a better idea of where we actually are.” 

Tank nodded. “You wanted to be bitten to see if you turned. It is logical.” 

Seven dipped her head once and was grateful to find Tank’s agreement in their assessment. She leaned on her bound wrists and rose to a standing position once more. 

“Have you seen them?” Tom asked Owen. “The figures.” 

“Oh,” the older man thought. “I’m not sure. Maybe I have but I didn’t notice.” 

B’Elanna and Seven shared a look before the brunette turned to Gretchen. “And you, Mrs. Janeway?” 

The oldest Janeway had been even more quiet than usual, refraining from questions or discussion since comforting Seven. She stood a little taller at the question. “I don’t think so.” 

“Phoebe,” Seven said, “have you seen them?” 

“Wait. Wait a minute. Am I getting this right? You’re thinking that we’re delusional or something? That nothing in the world is real?” 

“I do not know,” Seven answered. “I only know that things do not appear to be as they are supposed to.” 

“Have any of you thought for a moment that we may have company? That maybe these people in black are another group? Maybe they messed with the quarry! Made it break or something.” 

“Unfortunately, that is impossible,” Tank responded. “I have seen these  _ figures  _ stand amongst the walkers.” 

“As have I,” Seven nodded.

“Us, too,” B’Elanna interjected while Harry nodded. 

“Maybe they have some way to divert them! Maybe they’re here to try to help us.” 

“Those are possibilities, Phoebe, but they are not probable.” 

“Then what is?” 

Everyone waited silently as Seven struggled to say what she meant in a succinct manner.

“What’s going on down here?” Kathryn’s voice startled them as she walked down the stairs. The others stepped out of her way as she approached Seven. 

“Kathryn—you should not get so close.” 

She put the back of her hand to Seven’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.” Turning to B’Elanna, she asked, “any fever? Other symptoms?” 

“No. Not that I’ve been able to tell.” 

Kathryn turned back to Seven once more. “Let me see your bite.” 

Without argument, Seven turned her bound wrists so that Kathryn would be able to lift the cloth. B’Elanna appeared at their side as Kathryn carefully peeled back the material. 

“It’s damn near healed. Just like the bullet,” B’Elanna commented. 

“How long has it been?” Katie asked sharply.

“About 5 hours.” 

She nodded and wrapped the cloth around the bite once more. She looked deeply into Seven’s eyes as B’Elanna moved away scratching her head. 

“How do you feel, darling?” 

Seven looked back and forth into her eyes. She longed to reach out to her and touch her cheek. Her eyes were a little swollen, red. She’d obviously been crying. But with her wrists bound, she could only look on lovingly. “I am well.” 

A smile bloomed on Kathryn’s face before she kissed Seven’s forehead. “I think it's time we tell them everything we know.” 

“I may still become ill, Kathryn, die even.” 

“I don’t think you will, darling.” 

Kathryn turned around to look at her family. “What do we know so far?” 

Tank spoke at everyone’s shifting eyes. “Six of us have experienced, dreamed or witnessed strange figures in shrouds and black veils.” 

“What?” Chuck questioned. “What are you talking about?” 

Kathryn nodded at Tank. “Chuck, have you seen them?” 

Surprised, he nodded. “How…?” 

“Seven and I believe we may be under a kind of delusion, or  _ something _ .” 

“Holodeck…” Seven mumbled. 

B’Elanna snapped her attention to her. “Holo-deck,” she tried out the word. 

Tom frowned. “That sounds familiar…” 

“Indeed,” Tank replied. 

Seven gasped. Drawing everyone’s attention didn’t distract her from the spectre. Behind the group, in the dark corner of the barn, five individuals flickered, disappearing and reappearing like shadows from a fire. 

Kathryn followed Seven’s eyeline and stilled as she prepared her next moves. B’Elanna turned around as everyone else did. The five black-clad figures finally seemed to settle into their image and solidified. Kathryn ushered her people toward the stairs, putting herself between them and the figures. 

Her voice was harsh and low as she turned to them, “who the hell are you?” 

Tank frowned and looked over at Seven. She seemed to feel his eyes on her and turned to meet his knowing look. She nodded. He slipped by the group and cut the rope around her wrists. 

“What are you doing?” Owen asked with some alarm. 

“It’s all right,” Tank assured. 

Seven tossed the rope aside as Kathryn kept her focus on their ‘guests.’ She pulled away the bandage to find the bite completely gone and her forearm untouched. Even the blood stained on the material had vanished. 

Images began to flood her mind. Strange things that seemed familiar and distant began to clear and make sense again. There was more there, she could feel it, but she recalled enough to figure out the situation. “I remember,” she said to Tank. He nodded. 

“I am also remembering, Seven.” His words were plainly staccato, bereft of emotion, yet not entirely like an automaton. 

She nodded once and approached Kathryn. Standing beside her, she folded her hands behind her back as she gauged the figures. 

“Who are you?” Kathryn repeated, eying Seven beside her.

“State your designation,” Seven said more sternly. 

The figure in the front of the group stepped away from its party and pulled its veil down. A rather bright orange-skinned humanoid smiled with smooth, rounded teeth and large, doe eyes. It happily applauded and the others in its group de-veiled and joined in. 

“Disappoint you did not!’ A deep voice surprised them considering their especially cutesy appearance.

Kathryn looked somewhat horrified by the figures and Seven threaded her fingers with hers. She squeezed gently, hoping to keep her grounded, which seemed to work. 

“What are you?” Kathryn asked of the front figure. 

“You will remember. It takes time, it does.” 

Seven tilted her head. “You are… lemhexians.” 

“Yes! You remember fast, this one,” the alien said to her and its party. They seemed to agree as they simultaneously commented and nodded their heads. 

Kathryn kept hold of Seven’s hand, pressing it to her leg as she watched her. The blonde’s curious expression began to change. A disconcerting, horrible realization overtook her.

“Oh,” Seven whispered in a shaky voice. 

“What is it, darling? What do you remember?” Kathryn turned to her, putting her other hand on her cheek. “What is it?” 

Seven shut her eyes tightly.  _ Why this? Why did  _ this  _ have to occur?  _

“Talk to me, darling.” 

Seven slowly opened her eyes with tears running down her cheeks. Kathryn’s concern followed her every twitch and micromovement. “I’m so sorry, Kathryn. I’m so sorry.” 

Katie grabbed onto her tighter, “what do you have to be sorry for?” Her heart thundered in her chest. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, lose Seven again. She didn’t care what the blonde had to tell her. She wouldn’t let her go. They could make it work, no matter what these creatures threw at them. 

She watched Seven closely and followed her eyes across the room. Looking away from B’Elanna and Harry, Tom, Tank and Chuck. She checked with Seven once more and found her eyes firmly focused on three. Phoebe, Owen and her mom. Katie frowned, “I don’t understand,” she whispered to Seven. 

The blonde jerked her attention to the lemhexian. “Do not do this. Do not do this to her once more.” 

The alien stared at her, uncomprehending. “The run has finished, completed is the run.”

Katie tried to make sense of their mostly unstated conversation.

“You must give her time to say goodbye--” Seven pulled Kathryn close to her as she put her hand out to stop the lemhexians. 

“Goodbye?” Katie said over Seven’s shoulder, unsure what she was supposed to say goodbye to. 

Despite Seven’s attempt, the alien pressed a button on the back of its three fingered hand. Katie briefly glanced at her mother and sister before darkness hit them. 

*****

Kathryn opened her eyes slowly, coming up from the deepest depths of consciousness. Her body and mind were sluggish like moving through thick molasses. Her brain awoke before her eyes opened. Transient images passing by. A space ship, Indiana, a walker, sitting in a comfortable black leather chair, a metal cup filled with coffee, the back room in Wyldman’s boutique, a pair of lips on her neck. Seven! 

“Seven…” Kathryn’s voice was hoarse as she tried opening her eyes. 

The blonde’s eyes opened instantly. She tried to move and found she had been strapped onto something at a 78.5 angle. A brownish black pod cradled her body, kept her warm and comfortable, except for the straps, and tubes attached to her right arm. She pulled away the strap around her left and yanked the tubes out of her other arm. She tore the other straps away quickly and stumbled as she stepped out. 

With a glass ceiling above her, plants everywhere around and the humid temperature she easily deduced they were inside a greenhouse. 

“Seven…” 

She snapped to attention. Passing by four other pods that contained others from their party, she found Kathryn’s. She snatched away the bands and gently pulled the tubes from Kathryn’s right arm. 

The redhead opened her eyes, squinting. “Seven?” 

“I am here.” 

Kathryn staggered forward, wrapping her arms around Seven’s neck and pulling the blonde close. She pressed her lips to her neck and cheek before drawing back and kissing her lips. 

A quiet gasp was followed by two more in succession. 

Kathryn and Seven held onto each other as they turned to whoever had joined them in the greenhouse. While Tank, Chuck and B’Elanna began to stir, a group of lemhexians, three humans and another strange humanoid stood on the opposite end, wide-eyed. 

Kathryn gasped for an entirely different reason. “Mom and Phoebe! Help me find them, darling.” 

The redhead slipped out of her arms but Seven yanked her back, slightly harsher than she meant to. She stumbled back into Seven’s embrace with a confused frown. “Seven--” 

“Kathryn.” She took a deep breath before holding her in place. She shook her head. “They aren’t--they aren’t coming.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Captain?” 

They turned to the strangers. The speckled-faced humanoid with a mullet toddled forward a few steps. “Are you feeling all right, Captain?” 

He took another few steps forward and Seven tried not to smile as Kathryn put herself in front of her to protect her. 

“He will not harm us,” Seven told her gently. “Please give us a few minutes, Neelix. The others will need your assistance.” 

He nodded with a strange look but finally eased off as Tuvok dipped his head in agreement. 

Carefully, Seven turned Kathryn around to look into her blue-grey eyes. “I know it doesn’t all make sense yet. But, we are back. To our… reality.” 

“Okay, but mom and...” 

Seven bit her lip. “I’m so sorry, Kathryn. They were not…” she gulped, “real,” she whispered. 

Kathryn’s entire being shifted. Her muscles tensed and hardened while the life in her eyes dimmed. 

Seven found herself terrified once more. “They are alive, Kathryn.” 

The redhead looked away, lost in thought, only perhaps half listening. 

“But they are on Earth. And we… are not. We are making our way from the Delta quad--” 

Kathryn shoved her. Not looking at Seven, or any of the others, she silently walked away. 


	16. Chapter 16

In the conference room, the senior officers were accompanied by Samantha Wildman, Neelix, the Doctor and two security officers who stood by the conference doors. Although Kathryn sat at the head of the table, she appeared as uncomfortable and ill at ease as Seven had ever seen her. Having not said a single word for the four hours it took them to properly disengage with the lemhexians, and beamed aboard the starship  _ Voyager, _ waiting in the planet's orbit, Seven hadn’t forced direct discourse. Instead, she kept her eye on the redhead, looking for any signs of her distress—her mostly blank expression was far more disturbing. 

Of the seven Starfleet officers and crew who had participated in the program, only two had recovered their full memories. While the Doctor had given each of them a medical examination, he had been made aware of the effects beforehand, namely that of temporary loss of memory. It would only take time, anywhere from five minutes to a few days, the lemhexian practitioner had explained and demonstrated for the Doctor before the program was initiated. Borg nanoprobes and Vulcan physiology seemed to simply accelerate the recovery. While everything seemed quite impressive, if not disturbing, to the remaining members of the crew who hadn’t recovered their full memories, the Doctor had told each one that they would remember soon. A bedside manner even he was impressed by. 

Tuvok, being the highest commanding officer with full faculties and memory, coolly led the meeting from his seat along the right side of the long, narrow table. “Although we have all received PADDs with the relevant information, Doctor, Neelix, and ensign Wildman, please explain the circumstances of our interaction with the lemhexians.”

Neelix and the Doctor were eager to explain the situation, but Samantha Wildman cleared her throat and drew  _ almost  _ everyone’s attention. Seven noted the way the blonde seemed to speak directly across the table to the Captain, much as the others had done, trying to get her to engage without overstepping. Kathryn’s despondency was of the highest concern to Seven—and apparently, a high concern felt by the others as well. She wished she could yell at Kathryn to realize this was her extended family, and one that needed her to be well, not just to lead, but to have in their lives.

“They offered us enough dilithium to last us a year. And all they asked for in return was participation in their  _ program _ . Every willing member of the crew, including the officers, and the captain,” she said, “agreed to take an evaluation. After those were complete, seven were chosen to take part in the program itself.” 

“And what exactly is the ‘program’?” B’Elanna asked in a gravelly voice. Seven held back a small smile. Having gotten to know a form of Phoebe Janeway, she could see why she and B’Elanna had become close so quickly. For a moment, she thought Kathryn may have felt the same way, but her blue-gray eyes were fixed to B’Elanna with no expression. 

The Doctor cut in. “It’s like our holodeck, except it’s directly connected to the memories and minds of participants.” 

“Holodeck!” B’Elanna exclaimed and looked to Seven with a broad smile. Seven snorted. 

“Indeed, Lieutenant.” 

Harry, Chakotay and Tom laughed, seeming to be glad for a break in the tension, too.

The Doctor cut in once more. “The lemhexians haven’t had contact with another species in two decades. They were chomping at the bit for some new material for their program.” 

SEven frowned at the expression and instinctively looked to Kathryn for an explanation. She was reminded of her Captain’s far away mind and turned back to the conversation with a heavy heart. 

B’Elanna leaned back in her chair. “So, we just let them mess around with your heads?” 

Tuvok responded, “in a manner of speaking. We thoroughly tested the devices and determined that their technology would have no ill effects on humans, Vulcans or Borg.” 

Samantha chimed in, “there was no way anyone would be hurt.” 

Seven was sure she saw a minor reaction from Kathryn, a quick, faint scowl that was gone in an instant. Still, it was something, hopefully. The information was computing to some small degree. 

“That’s a load of shit,” B’Elanna said with repugnance.

“How so?” Neelix asked quietly, surprised by the use of a blatant profanity in front of the Captain. Even for B’Elanna. 

“I believe Samantha Wildman meant we would not be harmed physically,” Tuvok offered. 

“Yeah,” B’Elanna glared, “I know. I get it.”

Tuvok continued, “we did not consider the psychological results nor how realistic it would be. We were under the impression that it would be far more similar to the holodeck than it was. The lemhexians did not speak of memory loss in the way it manifested in the program.” 

“How--” Tom stopped, then continued, “how did they write the program so accurately?” 

“They didn’t,” Seven responded. “Instead, the lemhexians’ program utilizes the minds of its participants, who create a reality within the confines of the parameters. The setting, the Janeway farm, came from the Captain. The animated corpses were from Tom’s mind. Everything that occurred came from the minds of the participants as a whole. The strongest mind leads the others, but is still subjected to changes based on the strength or depth of emotion of the others. It is quite… fascinating.” 

B’Elanna shook her head. “You say fascinating. I say fucked up.” 

Seven’s confusion at the term was ignored by the others. 

“Lieutanent--” 

“Stop calling me that!” B’Elanna slammed her fist on on the table. She took a breath and relaxed in her chair. “Sorry. It’s just a lot to throw at someone. One day it’s the end of the world with walkers all around you, the next you’re in a--a--” she tried to think of the word but it wouldn’t come.

“Space ship?” Chakotay offered.

“Shuttle?” Harry chimed.

“UFO?” Tom’s eyes were wide with excitement. 

“Starship.” A low voice at the other end of the table drew everyone’s attention. Seven’s heart caught at the anguished voice, both relieved to hear her, and heartbroken at her pain.

Even the Doctor seemed genuinely curious about the experience. He uncharacteristically treaded very carefully. “You had no idea the others were illusions?” 

The room was still, the tension thick like mud. Seven watched Kathryn carefully as her breath seemed to cease entirely. She half wondered if she should inform the doctor, but her Borg parts allowed her the luxury of hearing Kathryn’s breaths and the beats of her heart. 

When it was clear the Captain would not speak again, Harry stepped in. “Very,” he elucidated. “I swore that Phoebe—” 

Everyone’s eyes locked onto Kathryn for a split moment before they markedly focused elsewhere. All except Seven. She remained glued to her Captain.

“I’m sorry,” Harry whispered. “I just mean that I had no idea that anyone wasn’t real…  _ This  _ here feels like the dream. Not the other way around.” 

Tom nodded, recalling the crush Harry had on the youngest Janeway. Though he felt sympathy for him, he felt even more for Katie—the Captain. The one thing she had always had, was her mother and her sister. They were there for her even when she couldn’t let herself go. They were her heart and soul during those dark times. And now they were gone. In an instant. Not even a goodbye.

“Were they… true to form?” The Doctor pressed on with extreme caution. 

Tom glanced at Katie before meeting Seven’s eyes across the table. He gave her a sympathetic almost smile before she turned her focus back to Kathryn.

Tuvok patently ended the line of questioning. “All participants will write full reports of their experience. Those will be made available for senior staff, if it is approved by the Captain at that time.” 

“I’d still like to monitor everyone. Say, every couple hours?” the Doctor sort of asked, but mostly demanded.

Tuvok nodded. “Everyone will report to the doctor every three hours during the day until they are cleared.” 

The Doctor nodded, satisfied with getting his way. 

“Is there anything we can do to help jog their memories?” Samantha asked.

“Unknown,” Seven responded, not quite realizing she had spoken.

“They could listen to any logs they’ve made,” the Doctor offered, “or socialize with the crew. It won’t hurt to be reminded of your lives.” 

B’Elanna scoffed. “I remember my life… even if it wasn’t real.”

The Captain abruptly slid back from the table and rose. Without a glance, she left the room, the doors suctioning closed behind her. Tuvok nodded for one of the security staff to follow her along and make sure she got to her quarters.

Seven went to follow but B’Elanna held out her hand to stop her. “Let her be.” 

“B’Elanna…” 

“She needs some time.”

Seven took a long, sorrow filled breath, ignoring everyone around them and efficiently wiping a tear from her eye. She nodded, staring at her hands on the clean, sleek conference table. “Okay.” 

Neelix, the Doctor and Samantha shared looks at the open gestures of the crew. Something had most certainly happened in the program that had changed them, even if it were only in their minds, it still held real significance. B’Elanna turned to Tuvok, knowing Katie, or the Captain, both—would want her to follow the command structure, even if it was a foreign one. 

“Mr. Paris,” Tuvok said, “keep us in orbit for the time being. Neelix, please assist the Doctor where needed.” 

“Yes, Mr. Vulcan,” Neelix responded proudly. 

“Dismissed.” 

Only B’Elanna rose from her seat, glancing at every one of her friends at the table. She landed on Seven. The blonde woman she’d just begun to know in Indiana was superimposed on top of what she could recall of the ex-Borg. Both shared the same fond look for Katie, the Captain—and both seemed to be equally disturbed by the situation at hand. 

“Come on, Seven. Lets get a drink.”

  
  


*****

_ Three days later. _

  
  


“Seven?” 

The blonde paused at her station in Astrometrics. She wore black Starfleet regulation pants and a black regulation tunic that she’d adopted since her return to the ship. A few, ten, hours in regeneration had done her good. Her systems were up and running to full capacity. Her head was clear. Her memories had solidified and she enjoyed some of the changes she’d gone through from the program. Still, despite her best efforts, a large hole had been seared into her heart and unshed tears constantly loomed behind her eyes. Her work was unsatisfying. Her attention span was short. Her thoughts constantly brought her back to Kathryn, the person she loved more than anything else.

“Seven?” 

She turned around and pursed her lips. If he wasn’t careful, she was likely to punch Chuck—Chakotay—square in the face. His attitudes toward her throughout the program and throughout her time on  _ Voyager _ were unacceptable, and both had discovered why he had been so nasty to her. Emotionally raw, she secretly hoped he would say something idiotic so she could knock him out cold. 

“What?” she responded. 

A couple crew members in Astrometrics glanced toward the two officers but quickly pretended to get back to work at Seven’s tone. 

“What do you want, Chuck? Chakotay.” 

He laughed once, humorlessly. “It’s strange. I know my name is Chakotay, but it  _ sounds right  _ when you say ‘Chuck.’” He shook his head and fiddled with the itchy uniform. 

“Look, I just wanted to apologize. I—I was wrong about you. You were right, about all of it,” he gestured around him. 

_ Pathetic _ , Seven thought. But she was keen on a fight. “I was right,” she responded, “about  _ everything. _ ” 

He nodded. “Yeah. I know.” A tired, somber sigh deflated him. “I knew then, in Indiana, and I think I knew it before we did the program, too.” 

“You did?” She cocked her head in surprise.

“It’s not that hard to see.” He chuckled. “I just didn’t want to, you know?” 

Chakotay glanced around them, lowering his voice to keep the conversation at least semi-private. “If Katie loved me—“ 

“She does  _ not. _ ” 

He nearly rolled his eyes. “I know. But if she did...” 

Seven looked him over for a few long moments. She could see the pain behind his stoic and tattooed face. She was familiar with that pain. It had been her existence on  _ Voyager  _ for years. 

He tugged at the tunic around his neck. “She obviously loves you.”

She waited for what she was sure would be some backhanded comment.

He let out a breath of air, giving up. “Don’t give up.” 

Seven watching him suspiciously.

“It takes her time to figure stuff out. She feels things really deeply, more than I’ve ever seen anyone. Just, keep being patient. I know she’ll come around.” 

She couldn’t hide her surprise at his attempt to make some form of amends. That seemed to make him snort with a small smile. 

“She’s still my friend. I hope one day… you will be, too.”

She examined him once more and nodded. 

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight.” 

“Tonight?” 

“You didn’t hear? Neelix is throwing a little get-together tonight. He wants all of the staff to be there, and Tuvok approved it. That’s something I never thought would happen. Anyway, I know you don’t like parties much, but it might be good to get your mind off things.” He shrugged, then nodded and left Astrometrics.

*****

B’Elanna glared at the Captain’s door as she stood slightly hunched over in the hallway. She’d confirmed with the computer three times that the Captain was in her quarters, alive, and awake. 

Since pounding at the door didn’t work, and hitting it consistently for five minutes also didn’t work, she knew there was only one other option.  _ Rules be damned.  _ She yanked off the little box by the sensor and fiddled with the wires inside the panel, glad to have regained nearly all her memories, especially her engineering ones. The doors opened and she left the box hanging from the wall as she entered the lightless quarters.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Katie’s voice was pinched and dark, as dark as the room. Even the large window had been covered with a thick curtain. It almost felt they were back in undead Indiana. 

B’Elanna didn’t concern herself about Katie or her anger. She marched straight to the curtains, using a streak of light from the doorway, grabbed hold of the thick material and tore it down, rod and all.

Katie hissed as the light of the stars hit her and she shut her eyes tightly. B’Elanna was easily able to find her—sitting curled in an armchair. Her hair was mussed, her eyes red. An empty bottle of whiskey sat on the ground beside her, seemingly from the night before as a small stain had dried on the floor. 

“Jesus Christ, Katie.” B’Elanna marched toward her. She grabbed the empty bottle, finding a second one just under the seat, and tossed them into the recycler with a clatter. Approaching Katie once more, she crossed her arms and waited.

“Go away,” Katie responded quietly. 

B’Elanna went to the replicator and quietly requested something. 

Hoping that the half-Klingon would leave her already, Katie was looking forward to the hypospray that would knock her out for the rest of the day, and well into the night if she was lucky. 

Suddenly, every centimeter of her body jumped with her, all in slightly different directions. Shocked, she stood from the chair and turned around to face B’Elanna. Freezing cold water soaked her entire body, her hair stuck to her skull uncomfortably as icy drops slid down her arms and back and legs. 

B’Elanna held the large metal bucket on her hip, with a much too satisfied smile. 

Katie was furious, staring at the brunette with shock as she tried to comprehend her actions. She could kill her! Yet… Something was bubbling to the surface. She wasn’t sure from where, only that whatever it was, she’d been trying her hardest to keep it bottled and pressed as far down as possible. As the pain grappled back up to her conscious mind, she knew the intensity of the emotion would rip through her and decimate her if she didn’t let it out. Not knowing how or what to do, she squeezed her eyes shut, holding on.

From the blackness, she found her mother and sister. Everything they had said and done, all that they had given her. Part of a program or not, it was real. It was real because it had happened. They, and she herself, had given her what she needed to survive in that world. And here, in this one, her family was waiting for her—growing more desperate as B’Elanna showcased. And she too was missing them. God, she missed Seven. She had cried for hours when her memories had come back. Falling in love with Seven three times—once before the program, once during, and once again after. Three different realities and in each one, she only wanted to be with one person. 

She slowly opened her eyes to find B’Elanna waiting. 

The brunette set the bucket down carefully and replicated a thick towel. She put it around Katie and patted her to try to warm her. Kathryn had barely noticed her teeth were chattering from the cold. 

A few tears spilled over, but she realized the emotion she’d been holding back wasn’t sadness. Tilting her head, she frowned at the floor. It wasn’t sadness at all. 

B’Elanna waited, growing concerned again at Katie’s silence and strange expression. “Katie—Captain… Kathryn. I know it sucks to lose your family again, but—“ 

“I haven’t lost them,” Kathryn smiled. She noticed the breath of relief from her friend.

“You know I did that for Phoebe?” B’Elanna asked with a small smirk. “And I’ll do it again if I have to.”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Katie smirked back, chattering a few times, but not letting it deter her. “I think you two would get along like thieves.” 

“We did,” B’Elanna winked. “Is she like that in real life?” 

Katie smiled warmly and nodded. 

“Your mom, too?” 

She continued to nod. 

“You’re lucky to have them.” 

“I was.” 

“That’s not what I mean. They’re here, Katie. They’re alive and well, and even better, they’re not in that nightmare world where we were. They’re the lucky ones because they don’t have to remember five years worth of blood and…” She shook her head. “They’re not gone. We just have to get to them.” 

Katie nodded. “It feels like losing them again… not the second time, either. More like the third. I forgot how much I love them, and I forgot who I am… before the program. And then, things started making sense. And then it was all ripped away again.” 

B’Elanna shook her head. “You moron.” 

Katie lifted her eyebrows in warning and B’Elanna laughed. 

“The ‘things’ that brought you happiness are still here. Us, me in particular, I know, your team—we’re all here.” 

“But now I’m the Captain.” 

“You were always the Captain.” 

“Well, I didn’t know I was.” 

B’Elanna ordered a coffee for Katie. The coffee was devoured by Katie as she shivered from her chill. B’Elanna momentarily regretted her action, but even if the Captain ended up getting a little sick, it’d be worth it to have her back. 

“Whether or not you planned for it, we’re all a team now. Even more than before. You learned you could trust us to help you carry the weight, right?” 

Katie thought of the one person she longed for most, the one who had first lifted that burden, and devoted herself to the task for as long as Katie let her. 

“Are you really going to let her go?” 

Katie looked up at her, pathetically, B’Elanna thought, as she shivered under the thick towel and held her mug of coffee up to her lips. “The crew—”

“Don’t care.” 

“Command, structure—”

“Bullshit.” 

Katie took a long deep breath, closing her eyes. She let out the breath and opened her eyes. “What if she doesn’t feel the same way about me that she thought she did?” 

B’Elanna rolled her eyes. 

“I’m serious, B’Elanna.  _ This  _ is serious! What if she doesn’t love me any more and she’s afraid to tell me because she thinks I’ll be angry—or worse! What if she thinks I’ll kick her off the ship or turn on her? What if she leaves?” Her voice broke at the final question, tears threatening to unload. 

B’Elanna looked up into her Captain’s eyes, her friend’s eyes, putting her hands on her shoulders. “She loves you.” 

“Seven from Indiana. But we don’t know how  _ this _ Seven feels.”

B’Elanna didn’t move a muscle for a long moment before carefully pronouncing every word, “she loves you. You-you. Only you.”

The pulled eyebrows on Katie’s forehead and the way her lips tugged downward showed B’Elanna how afraid she was of that outcome. Taking mercy on her friend, B’Elanna patted her shoulder. “Don’t be an idiot.” 

Kathryn snorted. “Smart advice.” She looked over her lieutenant, taking a shaky breath. “I love her, B’Elanna.” 

“What did I just say? Don’t. Be. An. Idiot. I know you love her. Anything that breathes knows it.” She rolled her eyes once more, stepping back from Katie and taking her coffee cup. 

“Neelix is throwing a shin-dig in a few hours. You should clean up, and figure out what you’re going to do. She won’t wait forever… On second thought, she probably would, but don’t make her.” 

Kathryn nodded, holding the towel tightly against her cold, wet clothes and skin. “Tell me something… You like being her friend, don’t you?” 

“Who? Seven? She’s  _ okay _ .” 

A lopsided smile began to grow as B’Elanna shook her head. 

“Captain or not, you tell anyone that I like her, I’ll smack you,” she pointed her finger in Katie’s face. 

A large grin took Kathryn over and she yanked B’Elanna against her so hard it nearly knocked the air out of her. “You’re a good sister, Bee.” 

Though her first instinct was to fight the affection, it only took a few moments for her to hug Katie back. 

“A piss poor substitute for the real thing,” B’Elanna whispered. 

“No,” Kathryn pulled back, “you’ve always been a source of strength for me and our  _ Voyager _ family. I’m lucky to have you here, B’Elanna. We all are.” 

B’Elanna rolled her eyes, and then smiled warmly at her Captain.

*****

When the doors opened to the mess hall to reveal Captain Kathryn Janeway in her uniform with four shining pips, there was a low murmur under the din of celebration.  _ More like reintegration _ , she thought to herself as crewmembers nodded or said a quick hello. The ‘shin-dig,’ as B’Elanna had described, was more like a downright blowout. She briefly wondered who was running the ship, but set it aside. She still had three days off before she resumed her command, it was Tuvok’s problem for now, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t dress the part. A smirk grew from deep in her heart.

There was only one thing she needed to do presently. 

“Captain! You look fantastic!” Neelix cooed as she waded into the crowd. 

“Thank you, Mr. Neelix,” her low yet nasally voice was a welcomed, familiar sound on the ship.

“The crew is dying to know more about your experiences! Will you regale us on your adventure?” He smiled brightly as he followed her through the crowd. She paused momentarily, putting a hand to his arm. 

“I’m sure,” she smiled, “but I have something I need to do first. If you’ll excuse me?” 

“Of course, Captain! It’s nice to have you back!” Neelix beamed as he greeted the crew members around him. 

Kathryn cordially smiled and greeted a few crew members as she scanned the room. Surely she was here. Although, come to think of it, Seven was never much for social gatherings. 

“Captain!” Tom beamed. 

“Don’t you look nice,” she smiled at his uniform as he stopped beside her. 

“Not nearly as nice as you.” 

For the first time since they’d been removed from the program, Kathryn suddenly realized that Tom had also lost someone. His father. Even if it had been imagined, she knew better than anyone how real it  _ felt _ . 

“Tom, about Owen—“ 

He shrugged. “We’ve never been close. Some things didn’t change in the program, and that was one of them.” 

“Still, I am sorry.” 

“I think there are some other things that may not have changed…” he said suspiciously.

She frowned, “what do you mean?” 

He leaned in, lowering his voice so none of the crew around them would catch wind. “A certain blonde Borg and her heroic Captain.” 

Kathryn chuckled. “That sounds like one of your Arachnia stories,  _ Mr. Paris _ .” 

A lightbulb went off in his head and she immediately put up a stern hand and shook her head. “Don’t test me.” 

A boyish grin met her before he winked and went off into the crowd. 

Of all the people around her, there was one in particular she couldn’t seem to find. 

*****

Seven stood by the buffet table, watching a handful of couples dancing and laughing. She stiffly held a flute of sparkling cider in her left hand and a mini-plate with vegetables in her right. Neither had been touched. 

“Having fun?” 

She started at Chuck who stood beside her, crunching on a carrot. 

“No, Commander.” 

He laughed. “I knew you were going to say that.” 

Seven raised an eyebrow before turning back to observe the dancers. Energetic and folksy, they danced more as a group than as couples, though she knew of at least four relationships within the group. 

“Have you danced before?” 

She shook her head, “there is no need to.” 

He brushed his hands off, took the flute and the plate from her and set them on the table. “May I?” 

She scowled but allowed him to pull her along gently around the table and over to the group. She noticed the looks from crew members, and a couple who were dancing greeted them jovially. They pulled Seven in alongside the commander. 

Uncomfortable, Seven tried to maintain her composure. A few minutes participating in the dance and she’d never have to do it again. Just enough to prove that she’d tried it and it wasn’t for her. 

Chakotay was on one side of her, Harry on the other, and they pulled the women along to weave through the men who stood in a line. Before she realized it, Seven had gone down one way and then back the other until she ended up where she started. 

“That wasn’t too bad, was it?” Chakotay smiled as Seven turned to face him in her own line, like all the other women, and one man at the end. 

She wasn’t buying any of it for a moment. “It is not enjoyable.” 

He laughed again. “Maybe it’s not what, but who.” 

She felt everything around her slow as a quiet fell around them. Frowning at Chakotay, unsure why the lively energy in the room slowed to a stop, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand. 

Realizing he wasn’t watching her, she turned to her left to find everyone looking across the room. She turned around to the right, then all the way around and stopped short. Kathryn stood just in front of the buffet table, perfectly still, staring at her. Dressed as the Captain once more, Seven couldn’t help but feel her heart fill. The confidence and power, and strength, that oozed off the Captain was something she missed greatly. But there was also Kathryn, just behind the crack of captaincy, radiating warmth. And, she thought, a question.

Everyone around them, and in the line of sight between them, had given them room, none crossing their tense beam of energy. The crew, Seven assumed, were waiting for a toast or a speech of some kind from their Captain, perhaps even an order. She didn’t care what they thought of herself. 

Finally, in the dead silence of the room, the Captain spoke in her clear, authoritative voice. “Seven of Nine.” 

All the blood rushed to her cheeks as everyone focused their attention on her and the Captain, back and forth. 

She felt her brow raise on her head slightly as the auburn haired woman pressed forward, walking powerfully across the space. “Darling,” she said softly as she drew near. 

The left corner of her mouth turned up as Kathryn reached her, wrapping her arms around Seven’s neck and pressing her lips to Seven’s. Her eyes closed in the heavenly feel and taste of Kathryn, wrapping her arms around her waist and fitting into her. 

Kathryn ran her tongue lightly against Seven’s bottom lip before pulling her in for a deeper embrace. Slowly, Seven became aware of their audience, who began to applaud and hoot at their public display. She caught one ensign saying ‘it’s about time’ to another. 

It was about time, wasn’t it, she thought. 

Kathryn pulled back slightly and smiled up at her. She touched the metal above her eye in familiar strokes. “I love you, darling. I’m sorry I left. I don’t want it to happen again. I’m going to do everything I can to not let it.” 

Seven grinned. “I do not need you to be perfect, Kathryn. I only need you.” 

Kathryn looked back and forth into her eyes as she realized that was the end of her sentence. A large grin. 

“I love you as well,” Seven whispered. “We can accomplish anything together.” 

Kathryn rested her forehead against Seven’s chin momentarily before pulling back quickly. “Oh my god!” 

“What is it?” Seven asked, alarmed. 

“I didn’t even ask you if you wanted everyone to know—I shouldn’t have sprung this on you in public—”

Kathryn didn’t notice Seven’s grin before she captured her lips once more, kissing her thoroughly. As the crew pretended to go back to the festivities, and after a few languid moments, Seven pulled back and grinned smugly. 

“You know, it’s probably not appropriate for the Captain to make out with a crew member in the middle of a party.” 

Seven let her have that one, though she was glad everyone had gone back to their conversations, even if most of them continued to watch them. “I suppose,” Seven whispered, “I should remove my hands from your backside?” 

Kathryn gave her a lopsided grin. “I think so,” she purred. 

“And if I refuse, Captain?” 

She studied Seven’s lips, plump and familiar and needed. “Maybe it’s time you regenerated… in my quarters.” 

Seven smiled back. 

“Let’s go,” Kathryn trailed a finger along Seven’s collar bone. 

“No.” 

The hurt look she got from Kathryn nearly made her lose her resolve. But she was able to fight it. “You are the Captain. It would be inappropriate for you to leave the party so quickly. You have just arrived.” 

Kathryn pouted a little and Seven shook her head at her feeble, yet startlingly effective, attempt. “We should stay for an hour.” 

Kathryn frowned like a child, grumpily thinking it over. “Ten minutes.” 

“Forty five.” 

“Eleven.” 

Seven shook her head. “Kathryn.” 

The redhead smirked as she leaned in. She set her lips just beside Seven’s left ear while her fingers dug into Seven’s form. “Twenty minutes, and I’ll make sure I make up for our six lost days.” 

Seven knew Kathryn could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Had it been six days since they had made love? If it were anything like their first couple times, she knew she was in for quite the make up. 

“I will comply,” Seven whispered, her voice rough. 

Kathryn chuckled and placed a chaste kiss to her cheek. She pulled away and took Seven’s hand. “Will you make the rounds with me?” 

Seven placed her hand gently on Kathryn’s cheek. “Of course, honey.” Well aware of the tingles it sent through Kathryn’s body, she gave her hand a gentle squeeze. 

*****

Kathryn followed Seven into the turbolift, nodding her good night to crew members off to their own quarters. The doors suctioned closed. Instantly, she and Seven grabbed each other. Mouths hot, mutually pleasurable satin strokes of their tongues sent them pulsing for one another. 

Seven grabbed Kathryn’s hair at the top of her head and tilted her head back to place love bites and soothing swipes across her neck. Kathryn growled as they moved backward against one side of the lift. Parting her legs, Seven stepped into the space and relinquished her hold. She put her hands against the wall as Kathryn wrapped her arms around her torso, then pulled her tight against her by her backside. 

Taking a sharp breath, Seven tried to hold herself up as Kathryn slid her hands under her tunic and reached up against her flesh. Pulling her bra down, Kathryn palmed her breasts and worked them into hard, fine points. She grinned when Seven bit her lip, and redoubled her efforts, pulling her slacks away from her waist, she slid her hand down and cupped her.

Seven whined at the feather touches as they grew to insistent rubbing. Moving against her hand, Seven cursed her undergarments as Kathryn moved in circles against her most sensitive spot. 

“Please, Kathryn,” Seven whispered tightly. 

Her voice snapped Kathryn awake and she had the capacity to think clearly for a moment. “Computer, halt and lock turbolift. Captain’s code Alpha-Delta-1459.” 

“Accepted,” the computer responded. 

Kathryn almost snarled as she unbuttoned Seven’s pants and pushed them away alongside her underwear. She kissed Seven lightly before lowering to her knees. Sliding up, she turned her arms around her thighs and wrapped her mouth around Seven. 

The yelp of pleasure excited Kathryn and she redoubled her efforts. She sucked on her, occasionally sliding her tongue down, gathering moisture and pulling it up. Her teeth raked against the small nub and Seven gripped the metal bar along the wall. She knew she was denting it, leaving impressions of her Borg fingers as she moved with Kathryn. Her Kathryn. 

She opened her eyes to watch her below her. The blue-grays looked up her body as she moved faster. Seven’s breath hitched and her body halted, stuttering as her orgasm enveloped every pore. 

Opening her eyes and breathing hard, she caught Kathryn running her fingers around her mouth and sucking away the moisture on her fingers. A dark gleam in her eyes, Kathryn lifted Seven’s slacks and buttoned them up once more. Under Seven’s shirt, she lifted her bra and placed it over her breasts, giving them a gentle squeeze before pulling her hands out. She straightened Seven’s tunic and her own. 

Seven was in awe, watching Kathryn with a sated being, wondering what the redhead was doing. 

Kathryn kissed her softly, tugging on her bottom lip before releasing her. She looked up. “Computer, unlock turbolift.” 

Almost immediately, the doors opened. Seven had one moment to stand at attention, which she managed, if not awkwardly. Harry Kim gave them an awkward smile as he stepped in. He wondered at the strange expression Seven had, but the Captain didn’t seem bothered by it, so he let it go. The lift came to a stop and Harry nodded at them both, slipping out on his level. “Goodnight.” 

Kathryn nodded, holding her authoritative air until the doors shut. “Computer,” she said clearly, “halt and lock turbolift.” 

Seven raised her eyebrows as Kathryn turned on her. She pressed her body against her, once more letting her lips hover beside her ear. 

“Do you know what’s going to happen, darling?” 

Seven shook her head slightly. 

“I am going to make love to you on every deck of my ship, and then we’re going to christen every surface in my quarters.” 

Seven took a shuttered breath. 

“Do you comply?” Kathryn purred, pressing her lips to her long neck.

Seven pulled her away and kissed her, then spoke against her mouth, “yes, Kathryn.”    
  
  



	17. Epilogue

Seven stood against the west fence with Kathryn in her arms. Snow lightly fell around them and the quiet calm air relaxed them both. She rested her chin on Kathryn’s shoulder, occasionally running her lips against Kathryn’s neck. 

“What are you thinking?” Seven asked, her breath showing in a pale white cloud in the cold. 

“I don’t know, darling. It’s strange being back here. Even three years after the program, it’s still strange.” 

Seven nodded. “I understand.” 

“Seven,” Kathryn turned around in arms and linked them around Seven’s neck, “this is real, isn’t it? We’re really here?” 

The blonde smiled warmly. “Yes, honey. We’re really here.” 

“No 21st century, Tom-inspired monsters lurking in the shadows?” 

“No,” Seven pressed her lips to Kathryn’s lips. “Do you trust me?” 

Kathryn grinned as she caught the glint of her ring while she put a hand to Seven’s cheek. “Promise me something.” She took a breath. “If this isn’t real, I don’t want to find out.” 

Seven laughed before capturing her lips in a light kiss that quickly grew deeper. The noise of the shuttles disturbed the quiet but neither woman cared much. Their friends—family—were arriving. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sharing what you liked with me, reading, and being awesome. I had a good time with this, and I hope you did, too. <3 Happy j/7-ing


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